Indians girls come from behind to hold mighty Netherlands to 2-2 draw in Women's Hockey Pro League, win shootout 2-1 in Bhubaneswar

The Indian girls came from behind to hold the mighty Netherlands to a 2-2 draw in the Women's Hockey Pro League on Tuesday (February 25) before winning the shootout 2-1.

The Indians weathered a storm of Dutch attacks in the opening quarter before being undone by a penalty corner variation in the second. The Dutch aggression continued unabated, with the visitors doubling their lead ahead of the halftime break.

Deepika's inspirational effort reduced the margin for the Indians before an equally impressive goal from Baljeet Kaur forced a change in the script just when it looked as if the Dutch were aiming for a goal-fest. The Indians then won the shootout to end the home leg of the Women's Hockey Pro League in style.

The Indians penetrated the Dutch circle in the third minute after having thwarted a couple of forays with no damage done at either end.

The Netherlands, though won their first penalty corner in the 4th minute followed by a couple more immediately after. Frederique Matla's third drag flick was kept out by Sushila Chanu on the line after Savita Punia saved one earlier.

Felice Albers earned her side a fourth corner in the 5th minute which was run down by Sunelita Toppo.

The Dutch continued to run riot in the Indian circle, with Savita forced into a save in the 12th minute.

The Netherlands, who failed to score off penalty corners in the opening quarter, manufactured a variation early in the second quarter to fox the Indian defense and open the scoring in the 17th minute.

Jyoti Singh pulled of a goalline save, with Bichu Devi beaten in the 19th minute.

A scorching run from Lalremsiami resulted in a rare Indian foray but the move failed to materialize into a goal in the 27th minute.

Luna Fokke trapped a long overhead before crossing the ball towards the goalmouth, leaving it to Fay van der Elst to score a second for the Olympic champions in the 28th minute of the crucial Women's Hockey Pro League game.

A mesmerizing run from Deepika, who sprinted into the attacking circle before using her 3D skills to control and then loft the ball into the Dutch goal, brought the crowd alive in the 35th minute.

Baljeet Kaur levelled things up for the Indians with a deft shot from a narrow angle in the 43rd minute after picking up a cross from Sharmila who made a darting run down the right flank.

With both teams level at the end of regulation time, Savita pulled off a couple of impressive saves to help the Indians to a historic shootout win against the world and Olympic champions in the Women's Hockey Pro League.

How have the Indian girls fared in the home leg of the Women's Hockey Pro League?

India put up a good show in the Women's Hockey Pro League - Source: Hockey India

A dream start witnessed Harendra Singh's team defeat England 3-2 in their season opener before the Indians lost a close shootout following a 2-2 draw against the English girls in their second outing.

A humdinger against Spain resulted in a narrow 3-4 defeat for the home side followed by another unfortunate 0-1 loss against the in-form European side.

A shock 0-4 drubbing against Janneke Schopman's Germans galvanized the Indians who bounced back with a 1-0 win against the same team a day later.

The Indians put up a gritty show while going down 2-4 to the Netherlands before beating the Dutch in the shootout 2-2 (2-1).