Brushing aside the disappointing show against Argentina in the tournament opener, hosts India produced a much-improved performance as they held Olympic champions Germany to a 1-1 draw in their second Pool B match of the Hockey World League (HWL) Final.
Opener Desai was well-supported by Snell Patel (72), Cheteshwar Pujara (67 not out) and Sheldon Jackson (73 not out) as Saurashtra pulled off the 372-run chase by losing just four wickets in 115.1 overs.
After a goalless opening two quarters, Nick Ross broke the deadlock for New Zealand in the 41st minute. But the hosts' joy was short lived as India equalised two minutes later through a field goal from SV Sunil (43rd).
Satbir Singh scored four goals as India opened their campaign in the Junior Asia Cup hockey tournament defeating neighbours Sri Lanka 11-0, in Malacca, Malaysia, on Friday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Experienced drag-flicker Rupinder Pal Singh returned to India's men's hockey team, which also features debutant Jaskaran Singh, for the tour of Australia, starting May 10.
Indian men's hockey team finished a disappointing fourth at the Commonwealth Games as it struggled to breach a stout England defence to lose the bronze medal match 1-2, in Gold Coast, on Saturday.
The Indian men's hockey team went down fighting 1-2 to hosts Belgium in their second practice match on Saturday, ahead of the Fintro FIH World League Semi-Finals which will get underway in Antwerp from June 20.
Juhi Parmar talks about her big win in Bigg Boss 5.
Evicted from Bigg Boss, Sunny Leone comes clean about her Bollywood plans, and her stint in the house.
The Indian hockey team finished sixth at the FIH World League after losing a tense play-off match on penalties to higher-ranked Spain, in Rotterdam on Sunday.
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Laxmi Narayan Tripathi talks about her stint in the Bigg Boss house.
Striker Gurwinder Singh Chandi failed to make the cut as Hockey India announced an 18-member squad, led by Sadar Singh, for the eight-nation Hero men's Champions Trophy, in Bhubaneswar, from December 6-14. Lalit Upadhyay, who was capped nine times earlier, has been drafted in place of Chandi in the squad, named by Hockey India selectors after trials at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in Delhi on November 18.
Bigg Boss's bad boy tells his side of the story and reveals his future plans.
The Indian men's hockey team beat Oman 3-0 to register their first victory in the third Asian Champions Trophy at Kakamigahara, Japan, on Tuesday.
Bedi, daughter of actor Kabir Bedi and dancer Protima Bedi, was the oldest contestant in the reality show.
From majestic forts to scenic lakes, choose between trips that offer the best of history and culture and tranquility.
Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Delhi, rode on a fine hat-trick from Akashdeep Singh to trounce Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bangalore, 5-2, while Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Bangalore, struggled to overcome South Central Railway (SCR), Secunderabad 1-0 in the semi-finals on Friday.
The Indian men's hockey team suffered a 2-3 defeat at the hands of New Zealand in a hard-fought encounter of the Four-Nations Invitational Tournament here on Saturday. India knew that they would have to do most of the attacking in the opening periods of the game. The first quarter followed that pattern, India dominating the possession statistics, and creating several circle penetrations but unable to offer clear opportunities on goal.
India reclaimed the bronze medal at the Hockey World League (HWL) Final after eking out a close 2-1 win over a depleted but spirited Germany in the third-fourth place classification match in Bhubaneswar.
After a barren first quarter, Manpreet scored in the 21st and 26th minutes while drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh converted a penalty corner in the 36th as India registered their second consecutive win of the tournament.
'There was no other Lata Mangeshkar, there is none and there won't be any. I will celebrate her life, today and always.'
Veteran midfielder Sardar Singh was on Friday dropped from India's 18-member squad for next month's Hockey World League Final, while the fit-again Rupinder Pal Singh and Birendra Lakra made comebacks.
The actor gets candid about his return to the small screen with the Indian edition of the internationally popular game show Wipe Out.
Dabang Mumbai and Kalinga Lancers entered the finals of the fifth edition of Coal India Hockey India League by winning their respective semi-finals against Delhi Waveriders and Uttar Pradesh Wizards at the Sector 42 Hockey Stadium in Chandigarh on Saturday.
The north Indian actor was mobbed by his fans while filming for the Tamil movie.
Defending champions India made a mockery of Sri Lankan challenge pumping in 20 goals to remain unbeaten in the pool stages, setting up a tricky semi-final clash against Malaysia in the men's hockey competition at the Asian Games in Jakarta, on Tuesday.
This year a whopping 74 winners were picked for the national honours, including an unprecedented five Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratnas and 27 Arjuna awardees.
India are now atop the leaderboard with five points from two games, but the Manpreet Singh-led side conceded a point to the Netherlands after drawing (during the regulation time) the second match of the contest on Sunday.
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The ace music composer breathed his last on September 5.
Talented Chinglensana Singh and seasoned S V Sunil scored a goal each as the Indian men's hockey team started their tour of Europe with a 2-0 victory over hosts France on Monday.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) is planning to have India and Pakistan play their home and away matches in Europe if the arch-rivals face off in the Olympic qualifying tournament for a berth at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The Indian men's hockey team put up a clinical performance against Japan, demolishing the Asiad gold-medallists 9-0 for its third win in as many matches at the Hero Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat.
A look at the star arrivals.
SV Sunil struck the only goal of the match in the third quarter as India stun Australia 1-0 in the third hockey test to take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series in Perth on Saturday.
Captain Manpreet Singh and goalkeeper P R Sreejesh are among a few senior India players rested for next month's Olympic hockey test event in Tokyo. Besides Manpreet and Sreejesh, defender Surender Kumar was also rested.
The Indian men's hockey team secured a 3-2 win over New Zealand in a nail-biting third game to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in four-Test series at Christchurch on Friday.
Priyanka Jagga, Puneet Issar or Pooja Missra?
