ROURKELA: India and England played out a hard-fought goalless draw in their second Pool ‘D’ match of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup on Sunday.

There was hardly anything to separate between world number five India and sixth-ranked England as both the teams failed to break the deadlock after 60 minutes of intense battle.

The draw, however, ensured the top spot for England in Pool ‘D’ on account of a better goal difference than India. Both India and England made a winning start to their campaigns. While England thrashed Wales 5-0, India defeated Spain 2-0 in their tournament opener.

India will take on Wales, the lowest ranked side in the pool, in their final gro­up match on Jan 19 in Bhuban­eswar while Eng­land will be up against Spain.

In the other match of the pool, Spain defeated Wales 5-1 at the newly-built Birsa Munda Stadium as Marc Reyne and Marc Miralles registered braces each for the winners.

The remaining Spain goal was scored by Alvaro Iglesias while James Car­son scored the only goal for Wales.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2023