India beat arch rivals Pakistan 5-3 in a thrilling Pool D match at the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup in Amstelveen on Wednesday to book their place in the second round. The Wagener Stadium witnessed an intense battle between these two sides, but India quickly took control of the contest. Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring in the fifth minute, finding the net with a powerful drag-flick from a penalty corner. India doubled their advantage six minutes later. Abhishek finished off a good move down the left to make it 2-0 before Harmanpreet struck again from a penalty corner in the 21st minute. Pakistan found a way back when Hannan Shahid pulled one goal back.

 India kept being aggressive and took their three-goal lead through Abhishek, who scored his second of the match with a clean finish. Pakistan responded once again before the break, with Sufyan Khan converting a penalty corner to reduce the deficit to 4-2 at half-time. They stretched their lead early in the third quarter when Hardik Singh converted a penalty stroke. With Pakistan needing goals the pressure was there as the match entered its final stages. Shahid gave Pakistan some hope with his second goal early in the fourth quarter, making it 5-3. India were also forced to play with 10 men for a period after receiving a green card, but they managed to keep the lead and won the match 

India and Pakistan hockey teams share high-fives before World Cup match

Before the start of the game the two sides were lined up side by side next to the centre circle on the blue turf around 3.00 PM all the questions were will the players engage in the high fives. Both hockey players of the two countries traded high fives (as is customary in the sport). Even though India's cricket teams haven't shaken hands with their Pakistan counterparts in almost a year. The hockey teams have continued to engage and also did at the Pro League earlier this year, they were happy to exchange high fives with their opponents.

The win took India through to the next round after they finished second in Pool D behind England. While Pakistan are eliminated from the World Cup after this loss. Earlier in the day, England beat Wales 8-2 to top the group and that means, they take a three point advantage into the next round. England and India will face Netherlands and one of Argentina or New Zealand in the next round. The result also continued India's long unbeaten run against Pakistan and marked the first World Cup meeting between the rivals since 2010. Harmanpreet and Abhishek finished with two goals each.