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India went down fighting 3-4 to Spain in a fast and furious Women's Hockey Pro League encounter on Tuesday (February 18).
Debutant Sakshi Rana added her name to the scoresheet for the Indians after Baljeet Kaur had given Harendra Singh's team. Estel Petchame, Sofia Rogoski, and Lucia Jimenez scored for Spain. Rutuja, who scored on debut against England, also added to her tournament tally.
The Indians, who have now registered one win, one shootout loss and one defeat from three games in the Women's Hockey Pro League, will play Spain for a second time on Wednesday.
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Rutuja Pisal found herself in a scoring position in the seventh minute but was unable to beat Maria Tello amid a goalmouth melee. Florencia Amundson's shot on goal then missed the target by a whisker in the 12th minute.
Amundson's purposeful run resulted in a shot in the attacking circle which was stopped by Jyoti in the 17th minute. An unmarked Baljeet Kaur deflected a delectable cross from Deepika into the net in the 19th minute to score her first international goal as India took the lead at the Kalinga Stadium.
Savita Punia was beaten by a powerful tomahawk from close range by Sofia Rogoski in the 21st minute.
A brilliant Spanish attack led to a penalty corner in the 25th minute. Estel Petchame came up with a powerful hit from the top of the circle to enable her side to take a 2-1 lead.
The ball hit the body of an Indian player on the goalline off Savita's pad in the 29th minute. Both the on-field umpire and the video umpire ruled that the drag flick was too high and hence dangerous.
Sakshi Rana scored on debut with a thundering tomahawk to level things up for India in the 38th minute before Rutuja scored her second goal of the competition, deflecting a cross from Deepika into the back of the net in the 45th minute.
Petchame's strike off a penalty corner struck Lalremsiamis' foot in the 49th minute. While the Indians stood still waiting for the umpire to blow the whistle for another PC, Petchame struck the rebound home to restore parity for her team.
A yellow card picked up by Sharmila allowed Spain to up the ante. Lucia Jimenez picked up the ball just outside the circle before advancing a couple of steps to unleash a lethal reverse to allow Spain to go up 4-3 in the 52nd minute.
The Indians took Savita off at the death but failed to find an equalizer.
How do the teams stack up in the Women's Hockey Pro League?
The Indians, who have played three matches so far, have four points. China leads the points table with 16 points from eight games while the Netherlands have nine points from four matches.
The Dutch will play England in the Women's Hockey Pro League at Bhubaneswar on February 21 and 22. England have won just a single game after six games. The English lost 2-3 to India before edging the home side in the shootout after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
Germany is at the bottom of the Women's Hockey Pro League points table without a single win despite playing six matches.
