India's three-game winning run in the FIH Pro League came to an end with a 2-3 loss to England in a thrilling, see-saw game. India's early defensive errors saw England take a two-goal lead into the break, but a superb second-half performance saw India come storming back, only for James Mazarelo to produce a man-of-the-match performance in the England goal and keep India out. A Sam Ward brace turned out to be the winner after Jacob Payton's opener, while Abhishek and Sukhjeet Singh found the net for India.
The result means England climb to the top of the Pro League standings with 16 points from seven games, while India's 12 points from the same number of games has them fourth in the table.
Craig Fulton spoke about the need for a good defensive platform ahead of the game, but almost with his first touch Harmanpreet Singh committed an unforced error and played the ball out of play. That proved to be the Indian captain's theme for the first half as he looked sluggish and off the boil. It was Harmanpreet's loss of possession that led to England's opening goal, Jacob Payton skillfully bursting along the left byline before squeezing the ball past Krishan Pathak into the far post in the 15th minute.
India equalised minutes into the second quarter, as Abhishek was on hand to cleverly divert Sanjay's cross from the right into the goal from close range. India barely had seconds to celebrate levelling matters, as Sam Ward lead a counter-attack, held off Harmanpreet before squeezing as pass to Payton in acres of space. Suraj Karkera came charging out, but Payton managed to find a return pass to Ward, who dived and scored into an empty goal to restore England's lead in the 19th minute.
Harmanpreet's catastrophic half continued in the 29th minute, as an attempt to weave his way out of a corner saw him loose the ball and Ward pounced, bursting into the circle thereafter. He laid it off for Nicholas Park, who cleverly flicked the ball back to Ward, allowing England's Pro League top-scorer to turn and shoot past Karkera, making it 3-1 for England going into the break with his 11th FIH PL goal this season.
The second-half proved to be all India as the hosts came out all guns blazing. Sam Ward's attempt at playacting in a bid to get Sukhjeet sent off saw temperatures rise in Bhubaneswar, and India reduced their deficit moments later. Sanjay's pull-back from the left side of the circle found Hardik Singh, who slapped a hammer of a shot across goal, and Sukhjeet got the final touch to divert it past Mazarelo, making it 2-3 in the 40th minute.
India were firmly on the up, and a spate of penalty corners followed in the final quarter. However, Mazarelo made save after save, and none of India's eight PCs this game breached his net. The England keeper's reflexes ensured England held on to their lead, and despite Sukhjeet missing an easy chance with the goal at his mercy in the final moments, it seemed pre-destined that Mazarelo would end up on the winning side.
India play England once more tomorrow at 7:30 PM - their final contest in the Bhunbaneswar leg of the FIH Pro League.
You can relive all the action in our live blog, below: