India rode on a hat-trick by drag-flick specialist Harmanpreet Singh to consolidate their place at the top of the table in the FIH Men Hockey Pro League, defeating England 4-3 in their second-leg match at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium in Bhubaneswar today. All seven goals of the match were scored through penalty corners.

England took an early lead as they had done last night, through an innovative penalty corner that was deflected in by Liam Sanford, who scored his first ever international goal for England.

But India went back level through Manpreet Singh and never trailed again. Harmanpreet Singh architected the win for India, scoring a hat-trick as well as notching his 100th goal in the process.

India countered back with a similar routine from a penalty corner routine and scored via Manpreet Singh who got his first goal since 2019. Two more penalty corners from India in a dominant 2nd quarter saw Harmanpreet give India a 3-1 lead into the half time.

England removed their keeper in the final minutes and tried a repeat of their first-leg game where they had equalised with 12 seconds left on the clock, but the Indian defence led by Harmanpreet and captain Amit Rohidas dealt with the threats well and India emerged victorious, taking all three points and five out of the possible six from the two wins against England.

Player of the match Harmanpreet chose to give his team the credit for his goal, saying: “Happy with my 100th goal for India and hat-trick but it was possible because our team has great options in those corners, so the defence cannot focus on one player in that situation. Happy with the direction we are heading in and the talent and options in the team.”

RESULTS:
April 3 (Match 34): India (Harmanpreet Singh 26-PC, 26-PC, 43-PC; Manpreet Singh 15-PC) beat England (Liam Sanford 7-PC, David Condon 39-PC, Sam Ward 44-PC) 4-3. PoM: Harmanpreet Singh.
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PHOTO: Draf-flicker Harmanpreet Singh celebrates after scoring a goal against England in their second-leg Pro League match in Kalinga Hockey Stadium, Bhubaneswar on 3 April 2022.