The Indian men’s hockey team continued to dominate Pakistanbeat their opponents 4-3 in the FIH Pro League match at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Center in London on Tuesday.India, coming into the match on the back of two impressive victories against the Netherlands and Germany, were clearly the better side and prevailed.However, they got a big shock when Pakistan scored the first goal in front of a small crowd. It came from a penalty corner in the eighth minute when Ahmad Nadeem found the net through a switch that caught the Indian defense by surprise.India responded strongly, scoring four goals through Abhishek (22′), Nilakanta Sharma (24′), Sukhjeet Singh (40′) and Rajinder Singh (52′) that seemed to put the game out of Pakistan’s hands.Pakistan, however, was not ready to give up. They upped the tempo, pushed India back and reduced the deficit in the 53rd minute when captain Abu Mahmood scored from a penalty corner through the legs of goalkeeper Suraj Karkera. Karkera, who had a good game, would have been disappointed not to continue his efforts.The action continued from one end of the pitch to the other, and India had another chance to score after receiving a penalty corner. They failed to convert, but Pakistan made it count in the final minute when Moin Shakeel fired over as the visitors won their eighth corner of the match.The win helped India extend their unbeaten run against Pakistan, which began in 2016 when the Men in Blue lost in the South. Asian Games the last one in Guwahati. The two teams meet again on Friday, and India will be keen to retain the record.Before that, India will face England in what should prove to be a tough test. Pakistan, meanwhile, will host their hosts on Wednesday, although their fate is already sealed. With 13 defeats in a row and no points, they should be kicked out of the Pro League. India, on the other hand, has 13 points from as many matches.Despite the win, there were some areas of concern for coach Craig Fulton, notably India’s failure to convert any corners and a tendency to allow easy PCs late in the game – something that also happened against Germany.What will interest Fulton, however, is how his players were on the field. The goals they scored were excellent, with Abhishek and Sukhjeet’s batting in particular being the perfect match for everything.Now one can only wait to see if India can repeat this score against England.
