India were dislodged from the top of the table in FIH Pro League as they went down 2-4 to Great Britain in a thrilling encounter at the Lee Valley Hockey Stadium in London on Saturday.
Timothy Nurse (7') opened the scoring for the hosts, which was cancelled by Harmanpreet Singh (14'). Thomas Sorsby (32) and Lee Morton (34') further increased the lead for Britain but Harmanpreet pulled one back in the 43rd minute to ignite a comeback. But Nicholas Bandurak's (54') goal was the final nail in the coffin for India's hopes.
Great Britain made a strong start to the match and launched relentless attacks that aimed to put India on the defensive right from the beginning. Their efforts paid dividends as a defensive lapse allowed newcomer Nurse to score past India's goalkeeper Krishan Pathak.
Despite Great Britain's early goal in the 7th minute, India mounted a spirited comeback when Mandeep Singh earned a penalty corner.
In fine form with 11 goals in the tournament so far, Harmanpreet executed a powerful drag flick to find the corner of the post, comfortably beating Great Britain's goalie, James Mazarelo. Revitalised by the goal, India continued to pile on the pressure and churned out three penalty corners but were unable to convert them into goals.
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India did find the back of the net but a successful referral by Great Britain in the 28th minute disallowed India the lead as it was deemed that the goal was scored using the back of the stick.
Just before halftime, PR Sreejesh prevented Zachary Wallace from scoring off a penalty corner. However, it didn't take long for the home team to put their nose in front as Sorsby converted a penalty corner in the 32nd minute, followed by a field goal by Lee Mortan in the 34th minute, giving Great Britain a 3-1 advantage.
After a strong start to the game India loses against Great Britain in the second match of FIH Pro League 2022/23 England leg.#HockeyIndia #IndiaKaGame #FIHProLeague pic.twitter.com/ykmGVGxiJi
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) May 27, 2023
With less than 2 minutes remaining in the third quarter, India was awarded a series of penalty corners. Making the most of this golden opportunity, Harmanpreet executed a perfect flick, providing India with a much-needed breakthrough and narrowing the lead to 3-2.
This was not only Harmanpreet's second goal of the match but also made him the all-time leading goal scorer in the Pro League with 35 goals. He also retained the top spot as the leading goal scorer in the current edition of the league with 13 goals.
However, Bandurak's goal in the 54th minute further extended Great Britain's lead to 4-2. After falling behind by two goals, India threw caution in the wind and started raiding Britain's fort with intent and purpose.
They earned a penalty corner with less than two minutes left on the clock but it was cleared by, Sorsby, which ensured his team secured three points from the victory.
India will next face Belgium on 2nd June 2023.
How to watch FIH Pro League matches featuring India?
The FIH Pro League match between India and Great Britain at 17:00 IST can be watched on Star Sports First, Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD and can be streamed live on FanCode.
| Match | TV channels | Streaming |
|---|---|---|
| India vs Great Britain | Star Sports First, Star Sports Select 2 and Star Sports Select 2 HD | FanCode |
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