Hockey: India's share spoils with Germany; Continue positive start to European tour

India drew 1-1 in a friendly match against Germany on Tuesday evening in the second of their four-match Europe tour on Sunday.

The European side were comprehensively beaten 6-1 by India in the first match of the tour on Sunday. The results so far augur well for India in what is the Olympic year.

Jarmanpreet Singh struck for the men in blue in the first quarter to hand India the lead on Tuesday while the Germans equalised through a penalty corner just on the stroke of halftime.

India started the match on the front foot and asked serious questions of Germany's defence. Hardik Singh earned a penalty corner for India in the 14th minute and Jarmanpreet made no mistake, piercing the net with a slap shot.

Riding high on confidence after Sunday's win, India played with a lot of intent and purpose. Graham Reid's men created several scoring opportunities and were just about stopped from adding to their lead by an alert German defence. But India maintained possession and showed glimpses of exemplary ball control, not allowing Germans to settle down.

Hardik was the livewire in attack, testing the German keeper with frequent shots.

However, against the run of play, the hosts earned a penalty corner just before half-time and Martin Haner converted it with aplomb.

In the final quarter, the Indians attacked with intent but the opposition slowed down the pace of the game. The German defenders were forced to be alert as India continued to be on the offensive.

Rio 2016 bronze medallists Germany waited for their opportunity to counter and earned two successive penalty corners in the dying embers of the game.

However, the Indian defence dealt with the threat with conviction. Both the attempts were thwarted and the scoreline remained unchanged at full-time.

India will next face Great Britain on March 6, Saturday, at 6:30 pm IST.