FIH Hockey Pro League: India beats England in a dramatic shootout after a 3-3 tie

Within the regulation time, Abhishek in the 14th minute, Shamsher Singh in the 27th minute and Harmanpreet Singh in the 52nd minute were the goal scorers for India while Sam Nicholas Bandurak in the 8th and 28th minute and Sam Ward in the 60th minute were the goal scorers for England.

England started the match aggressively by scoring in the eighth minute. Nicholas Bandurak converted a penalty corner for England with a drag flick past Sreejesh towards the Indian goalkeeper's left, giving England a 1-0 lead. However, just 6 minutes later, India tied the score as Abhishek fiercely finished a pullback reverse pass by Shamsher, ending the first quarter with both squads tied 1-1.

The second round started with both the teams going back and forth but struggling to score. Eventually, Shamsher scored in the 27th minute, giving India a 1-0 lead. But the lead was short-lived as the English squad received a penalty corner just a minute later. Nicholas Bandurak took the shot and scored his second goal of the match, carrying the score to 2-2.

The scores were balanced going into half-time. England performed a little better with the ball and secured three penalty corners compared to none by India.

England continued to play aggressively into the third quarter. They secured a penalty corner again, but the veteran Indian defender Sreejeesh made a fine save to keep the score tied. The Indians were insipid with their passes throughout the third quarter. The below-par performance can be gauged considering they failed to secure a single penalty corner.

However, the Indian squad stepped up in the fourth quarter and got back to back penalty corners 52 minutes into the game. Harmeet Singh converted the second penalty corner with a powerful drag-flick to give India a 3-2 lead. The Indian side worked hard to maintain the lead, but the further drama was in store as the English squad got a penalty corner with just 14 seconds left on the clock. Sam Ward did not miss the crucial shot and the scores were level again.

Both the teams went into a shootout and struggled to score but eventually, India won the shootout by 3-2. Griffiths and Albery were the goal scorers for England. Raj Kumar Pal and Abishek were the goalscorers for India with Abhishek scoring twice.

Owing to this victory, India has reached the top of the Pro League charts with 18 points from nine games.

Both the teams will battle it out again in the second leg of the match at Kalinga Stadium on April 3, 2022.