India defeated Pakistan 4-3 in a closely contested FIH Pro League match at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre on Tuesday, with goals from Abhishek, Nilakanta Sharma, Sukhjeet Singh and Rajinder Singh securing the victory.
The enthralling fixture, however, got off to a contrasting start as Pakistan pulled ahead in just the eighth minute, with Ahmad Nadeem netting the opener after they were awarded a second consecutive penalty corner.
After conceding early, India regrouped and launched a spirited attack, which earned them five penalty corners, but Pakistan’s goalkeeper Ali Raza waved off the threat on each occasion, ensuring that the Green Shirts head into the break with a 1-0 lead in their favour.
India continued to press in the second quarter and eventually managed to net the equaliser in the 22nd minute, courtesy of a sensational field goal by Abhishek.
Nilakanta Sharma put India into the lead a minute later with a field goal, which remained intact until halftime.
The penultimate quarter followed the same pattern, with India dominating the possession and pressing Pakistan’s defence, which they eventually managed to breach in the 40th minute, and Sukhjeet buried the ball into the back of the net by dodging spirited Raza.
In the seventh minute of the final quarter, Rajinder Singh added to Pakistan’s woes by successfully converting the penalty corner and bolstering India’s lead to 4-1, only for the Green Shirts to pull one back the next minute in the same fashion through Abu Bakar Mahmood.
The remaining minutes of the enthralling fixture saw Pakistan make desperate efforts to score, with India committed to denying the Green Shirts any breakthrough by dominating possession with consistent passing.
But a foul in the final minute resulted in Pakistan receiving a penalty corner, which Moin Shakeel converted to reduce their margin of defeat to 3-4.
For the unversed, the 3-1 victory, which marked India’s third in the FIH Pro League, lifted them to the seventh position with 13 points, pushing down Spain, who have two less with a game in hand.
On the other hand, the outcome of the blockbuster fixture meant Pakistan succumbed to their 13th consecutive defeat in the nine-team tournament and thus remained at the bottom of the standings with zero points.
Furthermore, the defeat against India resulted in Pakistan’s relegation from the FIH Pro League.
