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India beat the Netherlands in a thrilling shootout in their second match of the 2023-24 edition of the FIH Men's Hockey Pro League on Sunday, February 11.
Both teams were locked 2-2 in regulation time after Hardik Singh's opportunistic field goal was canceled out by Jip Janssen off a short corner. Bijen Koen then gave the Dutch the lead but Harmanpreet Singh showed his class with a penalty corner goal at the death.
The Indians, who beat Spain 4-1 on Saturday, now have five points from two matches in the fifth season of the Men's Hockey Pro League after winning the bonus shootout point against the Dutch.
The Dutch began with a flourish as Tjep Hoedemakers and Floris Wortelboer made merry in the attacking circle, testing the Indian deep defense early.
Jip Janssen came close to scoring in the seventh minute but his shot sailed over the crossbar. The Indians won a PC thanks to some sublime skill from Sukhjeet Singh in the 12th minute but it was Hardik Singh who opened the scoring with a peach of a goal a minute later.
Hardik manufactured a scoring shot from an acute angle which no one saw coming to put the Indians ahead 1-0.
Abhishek's first-time shot was stopped by Maurits Visser before Manpreet Singh pushed the ball out deliberately to concede a short corner.
Jip Janssen restored parity for the visitors via the resultant penalty corner at the brink of half-time after which the Indians did well to thwart the advancing Dutch strikers early in the third quarter.
Bijen Koen gave the Netherlands the lead after picking up a drag flick and tapping the ball into the net in the 39th minute. The Dutch earned another penalty corner for a stick block in the 45th minute but Thierry Brinkman flicked wide.
Abhishek had a clear shot on the Dutch goal following a blistering counterattack but missed the far post with nine minutes left on the clock.
The Indians took their goalkeeper off in the 57th minute before asking for a penalty corner immediately after. The home team got what they wanted for a deliberate push and Harmanpreet Singh, who initiated the referral, scored with a powerful drag-flick.
Sreejesh made a great save to deny Jorrit Croon while Harmanpreet Singh scored in the shootout. Brinkman then scored and so did Sukhjeet Singh.
Lalit Upadhyay scored for the Indians while Jonas de Geus messed up in the shootout. Jip Janssen scored off a penalty stroke before Shamsher Singh scored the winning shootout for the home team in their Men's Hockey Pro League game.
How are the teams stacking up at the Men's Hockey Pro League?
The Dutch lead the points table at the 2022-23 Men's Hockey Pro League with 12 points from six games, having played in the Argentina leg of the competition in December 2023.
The Argentines have six points from four matches while Great Britain, who managed a win and a draw, have four points from as many games.
India are third while Australia have three points in the bag after beating Spain 4-3.
India, Australia, Spain, the Netherlands, and Ireland are currently playing the India leg of the Men's Hockey Pro League, where the Dutch made a majestic start by defeating Ireland 5-1.
India play Australia in their next game on Thursday, February 15.
