A stunning Deepika dragflick powered India to a 1-0 victory over a Germany side that had beaten them 0-4 just 24 hours previously. It was a remarkable turnaround for Harendra Singh's team as they started with calculated aggression, took the one chance they created, and dropped down into a solid low block that kept waves of German attack away with remarkable comfort. The result gives them three points that lifts them off the bottom of the FIH Pro League standings, and for now away from the immediate danger of relegation.
India are now seventh, with seven points in six games (2W, 3L, 1D) while Germany drop to eighth and England to the bottom place, ninth.
Also Read: FIH Pro League: Inconsistency the only constant for Indian teams in early running
On Saturday, India were a compact unit. Contrast this with the leakiness of Friday's efforts and you can see why the head coach was pleased with the team's efforts. Deepika's dragflicking heroics were supplemented by a confident display in the centre of defence as India closed ranks repeatedly to see off German attacks. Coached by assistant Janneke Schopman in Bhubaneswar, the Germans were underwhelming but incessant in their pressure and India needed to maintain their discipline till the end to keep the score at 1-0.
India next play the rampant Netherlands on Monday, Feb 24 (and then again on Tuesday, Feb 25) while Germany's leg is done and will have to wait for mid-June and the Belgium leg of the FIH Pro League.
You can relive all the action from India's performance in our live blog, below: