Wrapping up...

England had 34 circle penetrations compared to India’s 10. England enjoyed more of the possession too. For India one clinical moment in front of the goal, coupled with some sturdy defending, means they will have a point to start their campaign.

In the end, a result that both teams would be fairly pleased with. USA and Ireland are the other two teams in this group.

Thanks for joining us, stay tuned for the report and analysis.

It was a match of two halves for India. Rani Rampal and company were solid in defence but just could not cope with the pace of the English women in the second half and were happy to just sit back and defend and ultimately paid the price.

Nevertheless, a point from the opening encounter is a good start for the Indians who have qualified for the World Cup after eight years. It would be interesting to see how they build from here.

Full Time: India 1 England 1

That’s the final hooter and India would be happy to take a point fro their opening encounter after surviving the last 30 minutes. England went all out to find a goal or two. They managed to find an equaliser seven minutes from time but could not find the second.

58th minutes: India 1 England 1: Navneet Kaur is shown the yellow card and that means India will play the last 90 seconds with a player down.

GOAL: 53rd minute: India 1 England 1 England finally finds an equaliser through their ninth penalty corner. Savita saved the first shot but the defence fails to clear the ball and Lily Owsley pounces on the ball to put it in the net and level the scores.

52th minute: India 1 England 0: India misses the chance to kill the game as Lalremsiami couldn’t deflect a cross from the right well

48th minute: India 1 England 0: England builds a move from the left and earn their sixth penalty corner. Sunita Lakra makes a brilliant save off Danson’s deflection but its another penalty corner. England, however, waste their seventh penalty corner.

End of third quarter: India 1 England 0: India have managed to survive the third quarter. Coach Marijne wanted the team to press slightly higher. But England did not allow them any space and were all over the Indian defence. But to the credit of the Indians they stood strong and did not really give England many chances to take shots on goal. More than 50% England attacks are coming from the right and India will have to be alert to the threat of Alex Danson making those probing runs.

43rd minute: Susannah Townsend builds a rare attack from the left for England and her cross finds Sophie Bray unmarked inside the striking circle. But the striker shoots wide and the danger is averted.

39th minute: Alex Danson makes a probing run from the right and tries to go solo. But Savita is once again alert to the danger and keeps the English skipper at bay. England have definitely put their foot on the accelerator in the second half and Danson is leading from the front.

Marijne insists that India needs to press higher in the second half to ensure that they keep the pressure on the hosts. The second half has begun and the Indian tactics would be tested for the next 30 minutes

While the team’s are regrouping and figuring out their strategy for the second half here is the video of the goal.

Skipper Rani Rampal acknowledges the fact that the team took its chance but knows it won’t be easy to hang on to the advantage for another 30 minutes. The Indian team is definitely looking for three points from their opening encounter and the first half showing would have given them enough confidence.

Half time:

India 1 England 0: India have shown that they are here to take the challenge to the opposition camp. The defence stood tall and they managed to make the most of the chance that came their way.

GOAL: 25th minute: India 1 England 0: India draws first blood. Nikki Pradhan pushes the ball inside the circle and Navjot Kaur makes a sharp turn to push it towards the goal and Neha Goyal has the easiest job of tapping the ball in.

22nd minute: England showing a lot more purpose in their attack now. Suzy Petty makes a probing run from the right and the referee awards a penalty corner. India refers the decision but the decision stands due to lack of evidence to the contrary. But India keep the referral. England opt for an indirect variation but Savita is alert to stop Petty’s push.

20th minute: Alex Danson does well to keep the ball inside the Indian striking circle and earn third penalty corner for England. The referee awards England a penalty stroke. But India successfully uses the referral and its another penalty corner for England.

End of first quarter: Not much to choose between the two teams in the first quarter. Though England earned two penalty corners, they didn’t really threatened the Indian citadel. Rani Rampal and Co. were solid in their formation but coach Marijne would want his team to show more purpose going forward. And especially capitalise on the unforced errors from the English women.

9th minute: England make some elementary errors with their passing at the back but the Indians cannot capitalise.

8th minute: Another penalty corner for England. A wonderful cross from the right and Sunita Lakra is penalised for infringement. But the hosts couldn’t take advantage of the situation as they could not stop the ball on the striking circle.

6th minute: Since the first minute when England got a penalty corner, there isn’t been much action near the goal of either team. Both India and England seem happy maintaining their structure and trying to ascertain their supremacy in the midfield.

1st minute: England earns a penalty corner in the very first minute but Savita Punia saves it pretty easily

And we are underway

Its time for the national anthems as we are all set to stick off

Indian coach Sjoerd Marijne says India has learnt a lot from their last two encounters against England in the Commonwealth Games. The first they won while the second they lost pretty badly. But the Dutchman insists his team is ready today and ready to play in front of a huge crowd that is obviously going to back England

Here is now India line up for the opening match against the hosts

06:08 pm: 2018 is a massive, massive year for Indian hockey...

Despite not finishing on the podium at the Commonwealth Games, the team’s performance – barring the bronze medal against England where it lost 0-6 – was commendable. After a surprise 2-3 loss to Wales, Rani and girls won three straight games (including a 2-1 upset over England) to qualify for the semi-finals. Despite a spirited performance, they went down 0-1 to hosts Australia. In the bronze medal match against England, they appeared physically and mentally exhausted by the defeat and were blanked 0-6.

06:05 pm: Germany win 3-1 in the first match against South Africa.

06:00 pm: Hello all and welcome to The Field’s live blog of India’s tournament opener at the Women’s Hockey World Cup. The Rani Rampal-led team will begin their World Cup in London from Saturday against hosts England and a confident showing in the tournament would be a big boost for their Asian Games preparation.

Despite finishing fourth in the inaugural edition in 1974, India have managed to participate only in six of the 13 World Cups played so far. In the six editions, they have nine wins, 27 losses and three draws. That fourth-placed finish is India’s best performance in the tournament till date. It’s been four decades since they even qualified for the quarter-final stage.

But this team is a confident bunch and have shown they have the game to match up with the best. Can they get off to a winning start? Let’s find out.