Amsterdam: India went down 2-4 in their Hockey World Cup Pool D clash against England on Monday, but the scoreline doesn’t necessarily reflect the thrilling nature of the contest.
India conceded the lead moments before the end of first quarter, but stormed back with two goals in the second.
Skipper Harmanpreet Singh’s stinging reverse flick levelled scores, signalling his third goal of the tournament and his seventh overall in the World Cup. Dilpreet made it 2-1 in the 24th minute of the game, finishing off a brilliant move featuring Abhishek and Hardik Singh.
Down 1-2 at half-time, it was England’s turn to come back strongly. Stuart Rushmere and Henry Croft scored in the third quarter and Nicholas Bandurak added a fourth in the 51st minute.
India threw everything they had in a match which saw end-to-end action, but failed to narrow the 2-4 deficit.
With two teams to qualify for the next phase from all four pools, all eyes will now be on the India versus Pakistan contest on Wednesday evening.
England have qualified with 6 points from 2 games, having to play Wales in their last pool fixture.
India (3 points), currently in second place, will have to beat Pakistan (1 point) to seal advance. Even a draw will suffice provided Wales don’t beat upset England.
Pakistan, on the other hand, face a must-win situation.