Thanks for tuning into Sportstar’s live coverage of the men’s hockey Group B match between India and England. This was Nihit Sachdevataking you through the action as it unfolded at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash centre.
| INDIA | 4 |
| ENGLAND | 4 |
India plays Canada in its next group match on Wednesday at 6:30PM IST.
Final summary: We may just have got the contender for match of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. India was cruising at 3-0 at the halfway stage. However, England made full use of the man-advantage in the second half as first Varun Kumar and then Gurjant got heavy suspensions for indiscipline. From 4-1 around the 47th minute mark, India conceded three goals in next to no time and by the time final whistle was blown, most of the Indian players were simply relieved. Coach Graham Reid will be furious at the way India gifted its three-goal lead.
FOURTH QUARTER
60’ Final minute of this breath-taking encounter. Can India salvage a draw here? Yes, it can. Final whistle!
58’ Waller earns a penalty corner for England as he easily finds Varun’s foot inside the D. However, the men in red have fumbled the PC routine and Indians clear the ball away easily.
57’ England has the man advantage and the possession. Can it make it count? On the other hand, Indian coach Graham Reid furious at the away India has given away such a huge lead.
55’ Five minutes to go. Varun is back on the pitch, India have 10 men on from now till the final whistle provided no other suspension is invited.
53’ GOALLLLL!!!!!! Bandurak, the hero of the match against Ghana, has brought England back again here. Excellent finishing touch and it’s all square with less than seven minutes remaining.
52’ India is down to nine men as Gurjant has been awarded a ten-minute yellow card suspension for high stick around the head of an English player. Tempers flaring. Moments later, England earns a PC but Bandurak sends the shot wide.
50’ GOALLLL!!!!! We are in for a thrilling finish folks! Brilliant solo goal from Phil Roper to enter the circle from the right and find the left corner beating every Indian player and goalkeeper Pathak on the way.
49’ Penalty Corner for England but it is a terrible one as the do not manage to block the ball after the injection.
48’ Goal-line save from Payne after India does some excellent work to get the ball inside the England D.
47’ GOAL!!!! Not for long though. Bandurak scores in the very next minute to reduce the deficit again. Brilliant pass from captain Waller.
46’ GOALLLLL!!!!! Harmanpreet converts the penalty corner earned with some clever work from Abhishek who got the foul out of Rhys Smith. Harman found the bottom right corner without much fuss. India, a man down, leads 4-1.
46’ First quarter - Sreejesh, second - Krishan, third - Sreejesh, who next? It indeed is Krishan Pathak in the goalkeeping position for India for the final quarter.
THIRD QUARTER
45’ End of third quarter and England has hope. Exciting final 15 minutes coming up
44’ Another yellow for Varun Kumar. He blocked the ball with his body while Ansall was taking it forward. You cannot do that.
42’ GOALLLL!!!!!! With a bit of luck, England has scored. The men in red took the free hit quickly on the right flank. Liam Ansell put in a ferocious ball from the edge of the circle and it went inside the Indian goal post. India lost the referral complaining about the free hit.
40’ Penalty Corner for England. Patient move from the right flank to get the ball inside the D and Nilakanta is at fault for for a stick check. Sreejesh does well to clear the ball away but it is still a PC for England. Sam Ward is the one who goes with the drag flick but Amit Rohidas blocks the shot and India keeps the cleans intact. Long corner for England.
38’ England gets the ball inside the Indian D but again, the Indian defense not only avoids conceding a PC but instead releases the ball for Gurjant on the right flank who goes for a long pass to Mandeep which gets intercepted by the England defenders.
36’ England have enjoyed the majority of possession in this third quarter but nothing to show for it.
34’ Penalty Corner for England courtesy of a sliding tackle by Manpreet on Roper near the baseline. However, the Indian captain uses referral and as the replays show, he gets the ball first which means it will be a long corner for England and not a PC.
33’ Long corner for India as a long pass from the Indian half finds Varun inside the England D. However, nothing to worry for England as India unable to convert it into anything fruitful.
32’ Patient move from England on the left flank to earn a long corner. They switch flanks but India closing down the options pretty quickly.
31’ Third quarter begins. England will look to reduce the deficit as soon as possible. Otherwise, this match could get out of its reach.
Half-time summary: It has been a thrilling half an hour of hockey. Lalit Upadhyay provided India the early lead by first creating the penalty corner and then converting it on the rebound. England upped the ante from there on but it was India which kept finding the back of the England goal post despite two suspensions in between. The first half stats barely separate the two sides: India leads possession 55-45 and circle penetrations 15-14.
SECOND QUARTER
30’ Griffiths with a sensational shot from the edge of the circle but Krishan Pathak sees it off. Lapse in concentration from the Indian defense almost cost them.
29’ Lalit Upadhyay with the ball on the right flank. Looks for passing option, does not find any and England steals the ball.
27’ Abhishek with the tomahawk from the edge of the England circle but Oliver Payne easily block the effort at his near post.
26’ England makes a move. Back pass inside the Indian circle finds David Condon who hits the shot wide.
25’ Excellent defending by Jarmanpreet to clear the ball inside his own D. Also, India is back to full strength as Varun is back on the pitch.
22’ GOAL!!!!!!! Akashdeep with the final touch but the goal was constructed by Mandeep. Brilliantly received by Mandeep from Hardik inside the D, he spun around to find Akashdeep who put the ball into the goal. In facts, Mandeep is the official goal-scorer as it seems that Akashdeep did not get any stick on the ball whatsoever.
20’ Sam Ward brings the ball inside the India D and provides the ninety degree pass, beating Krishan Pathak to find Bandurak at the far post but the British forward, who scored a hat-trick against Ghana, failed to get any contact with the ball on this occasion.
19’ Big problem for India. Varun Kumar has been shown a Yellow card - five-minute suspension. The ball hit his foot which means free-hit for England but he hit the ball away after the whistle.
18’ Mandeep takes the free hit quickly and gets the ball inside the England D from the left to earn a long corner.
16’ Second quarter begins. Excellent 3D skills from Vivek Sagar Prasad to take the ball to the edge of the opposition circle before losing possession.
FIRST QUARTER
15’ Final minute of the opening quarter. England has certainly shown more aggression but it is India which has been more clinical with its passing and finishing.
13’ GOAL!!!!!! An unbelievable counter-attack from Mandeep and Nilakanta from inside their own half. Nilakanta manages to find Mandeep who slots the ball into the bottom right corner with an excellent tomahawk shot. England has used the referral arguing that Mandeep hit the shot with the back of his stick but the goal stands.
11’ Akashdeep is back on the turf. Meanwhile, Christopher Griffiths has made an incredible run from the left into the Indian D but his effort has been stopped by PR Sreejesh.
10’ Varun loses possession inside the opposition half. Dangerous situation for the men in blue since he is out of position with regards to defense.
8’ Akashdeep restarts quickly and provides the pass inside the circle but only manages to find the stick of an England player. A few moments later, Akashdeep has been shown a green card, which means two-minute suspension.
7’ Penalty corner for India. Careless defending from the England as in the effort to clear the ball from the D, one British player hit the ball on his teammate’s foot. Jugraj with the drag flick finds his shot blocked by the rusher. Another penalty corner for India. However, England have asked for a referral saying it is ‘dangerous play’ and they are right. The ball did hit the England defender above the knee.
6’ Wave after wave of England attack post the opening goal. Indians barely able to catch their breath.
4’ England earns a Penalty Corner courtesy of a misplaced pass by the Indians inside their own half. However, Vivek Sagar Prasad, the rusher, puts his body on the line to block the shot.
3’ GOALLLLL!!!! Lalit Upadhyay gives India the early lead. Lalit first earned the Penalty Corner and then got the job done on the rebound.
2’ England on the charge. Manages to get the ball inside the India D but captain Manpreet clears the danger with a brilliant dive.
1’ Quick start from India, Hardik Singh makes a solo run on the left flank all the way to the edge of the D.
Game time!!!
8:25 PM: Both teams are out on the turf. Live action shortly!
8:15 PM: Just 15 minutes to go for this battle between the two heavyweights.
8:10 PM: Head-to-head
India and England have faced each other four times in the Commonwealth Games and won two games each. However, in their last meeting at the quadrennial event, England had beaten India 2-1 in the bronze medal match in Gold Coast four years ago.
8 PM: Squads:
INDIA
Forwards: Abhishek, Lalit Upadhyay, Shamsher, Gurjant, Mandeep
Midfielders: Manpreet, Hardik, Akashdeep, Nilakanta, Vivek Sagar
Defenders: Surender, Harmanpreet, Varun, Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet, Jugraj
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Pathak
ENGLAND
Forwards: Samuel Ward, Phillip Roper, Liam Ansell, William Calnan, Zachary Wallace, Christopher Griffiths, Nicholas Bandurak
Midfielders: David Goodfield, David Condon, Rhys Smith, Stuart Rushmere
Defenders: Jack Waller, James Albery, Thomas Sorsby, Ian Sloan, Brendan Creed
Goalkeepers: Oliver Payne, James Mazarelo
7:45 PM: India and England both scored big wins over Ghana in their opening matches. With Wales and Canada being the other two teams in this group, the winner of this game could potentially top the group.
PREVIEW:
Indian men’s hockey team will look to continue its impressive start at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham when it faces host nation England in its second Group B match on Monday.
Manpreet Singh-led side beat Ghana 11-0 in their opening match on Sunday.
Star drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh scored a hat-trick on his 150th international appearance. Defender Jugraj Singh contributed with a brace while Abhishek, Mandeep Singh, Shamsher Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Varun Kumar and Akashdeep Singh all scored one goal each.
A cause of concern for India would be the fact that it conceded seven penalty corners to Ghana.
England too faced Ghana in its opening match and won 6-0 featuring a hat-trick from forward Nicholas Bandurak.
Indian squad
Chief coach: Graham Reid
When and where to watch India vs England, Commonwealth Games 2022 men’s hockey match?
The India vs England, Commonwealth Games 2022 men’s hockey match will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network. Live streaming will be available on Sony LIV from 8:30PM IST.
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