New Zealand – India 2-4 (1-3 half-time)

The Indians continued to be the surprise team at the 2012 Champions Trophy  after earning their second win in as many games thanks to a 4-2 victory against New Zealand. India, the lowest-ranked team at the tournament at #11 was clearly the better side against #6 New Zealand.

The Indians got off to an ominous start, scoring an own goal early into action to give New Zealand a 1-0 lead. But India was quick to atone for the miscue, firing in two consecutive goals coming four minutes apart to climb ahead to a 2-1 lead. Akashdeep Singh netter the first goal on a picture perfect effort and Gurwinder Singh Chani followed up by popping the ball between the legs of New Zealand goalie Devon Manchester in the 14^th minute.

 ndia built on its lead with 10 minutes left in the half when Raghunath VR deflected in a penalty corner shot to open up a 3-1 advantage.

New Zealand wasted no time in the second half getting back into the game. Nicholas Wilson fired in a shot from point blank range just two minutes into the half to make it a 3-2 affair. After the goal, India owned the second half, but Manchester stood his ground in net and kept the Indians from building on their lead for most of the half.

It wasn’t until the 65^th minute that India could breathe easy when Danish Mujtaba deflected in the critical 4-2 marker, sealing India’s second win.

India is now the only squad in the eight-team Champions Trophy field that has two wins in its first two games, making Tuesday’s preliminary round finale an exciting day of hockey action with everything possible for quarterfinal placement.