Sultan of Johor Cup: Dilraj leads India to victory

Dilraj Singh and Sharda Nand Tiwari scored a brace each as the Indian junior men's hockey team continued its winning run, defeating Great Britain 6-4 in a high-scoring game at the Sultan of Johor Cup in Johor, Malaysia, on Sunday.

Mohd Konain Dad (7th minute) opened India's account before Dilraj (17th, 50th), Sharda Nand (20th, 50th) struck.

Manmeet Singh (26th) also scored for India, while Rory Penrose (2nd, 15th) and Michael Royden (46h, 59th) put their names on the scoreboard for Great Britain.

High on confidence after their opening match win against Japan on Saturday, the Indian side continued in the same vein, and stamped its authority from the word go.

Though they suffered an early setback, when a defensive error cost them dearly in the second minute of the game with Penrose scoring from Britain's first penalty corner, India bounced back in the seventh minute with a goal by Dad from a set piece.

Great Britain, however, regained their lead in the 15th minute when Penrose scored his second goal through another penalty corner.

But it was India who dominated the second quarter with their forwardline working in tandem, as they scored three back-to-back goals.

First it was mercurial striker Dilraj who scored in the 17th minute to equalise the score at 2-2. He followed that up with another good piece of work to help Sharda Nand score from a penalty corner in the 20th minute, helping India take a 3-2 lead.

Dilraj remained the cynosure of the Indian attack as he set up Manmeet in the 26th minute with a quick baseline pass, which was tapped in perfectly by Manmeet, extending the lead to 4-2.

Five minutes into the third quarter, Dilraj helped India win a penalty corner but Great Britain's defence held strong.

The following minutes saw both teams trade penalty corners but neither could convert.

It was Great Britain who found success in the opening minute of the fourth quarter when Alex Chihota made a fine tackle inside the circle, to drive in from the right side.

Though he couldn't control the ball, he nudged it to Michael Royden who struck the ball past India goalie Ali Khan to narrow the lead to 4-3.

India's forwardline fetched a crucial penalty corner in the 50th minute that gave them a golden opportunity to extend lead. In-form dragflicker Sharda Nand didn't waste the chance, scoring a sensational goal.

Within seconds, Dilraj made it 6-3 in favour of India when he scored a stupendous field goal.

The final few minutes remained intense with Great Britain scoring their fourth goal in the 59th minute through Michael Royden who was assisted by Ted Graves from the baseline.

India, though, did well to hold on to the 6-4 lead and end the game with three points in their kitty.