By: Monu Kumar
A confident India began their campaign in the Women's FIH Pro League with a 3-2 win against higher-ranked England at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium, Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
Two of India's goals came from penalty corners with Vaishnavi Phalke, ranked ninth in the FIH, scoring the opener in the sixth minute and Deepika smashing another in the 25th, while Navneet Kaur smashed the winning goal with just one minute left in the game.
For England, Darcy Bourne took the first equaliser in the 12th minute and Fiona Crackles scored to level things; before Navneet slotted home the winner a minute later.
Team India looked confident and showed the intent to ruffle the seventh-ranked England with pace and short passes. They came close to doubling the lead in the ninth minute but veteran forward Lalremsiami failed to connect.
The third quarter was a sedate affair with the play mostly confined to the midfield.
With just two minutes remaining on the clock, the game seemed to be headed towards a draw but Navneet Kaur came up with a goal on the counter-attack to lead India to victory.