India have secured back-to-back victories in the Pro League after beating world champions Germany 3-0 in London on Saturday.
India finished the Antwerp leg with a thrilling 5-4 win over Argentina and carried the momentum to London where they won the opening match of the leg. Goals from Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh and Gurjant Singh did the job while goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was once again outstanding with his crucial saves.
Germany were missing some of their big stars like the Grambusch brothers and forward Niklas Wellen, but their young squad put out an inspired show despite not being able to score.
The opening quarter belonged to Germany as they constantly tested Sreejesh. Michel Struthoff was proving to be a handful in the attacking half for Germany, only for the goals to be missing.
India had to improve in the second quarter and they did. Sukhjeet, who has been one of India's best players over the last few matches, was on the show again as he won the penalty corner for India which was converted by Harmanpreet.
Both teams enjoyed a flurry of chances in the second quarter but it was India who went into the break with a slender lead.
Germany began the third quarter strongly but it was India who doubled their lead in the 41st minute thanks to Sukhjeet again. A lovely exchange of passes between himself and Abhishek led to the second goal. Sukhjeet took it really well after taking a touch to control the ball and then coming up with the reverse hit.
Three minutes later, India made it 3-0. It was a proper team goal with the move starting on the halfway line and finished by Gurjant. India attacked from the right and the crucial pass came from Jarmanpreet as Gurjant made no mistake from a close range.
Germany pushed India all the way in the fourth quarter, winning the crucial penalty corners but failed to beat India's defence and Sreejesh. They were together as a team after a long time as this was just their fifth match of the Pro League season.
After the win on Saturday, India are third with 24 points and three more matches to play in this season. They will face hosts Great Britain on Sunday at 4.45 PM IST.
Relive the match on our blog: