The Indian men's hockey team was defeated 1-2 by the Netherlands in a hard-fought encounter to crash out of the men's hockey World Cup on Thursday. 


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The hosts took an early lead following a brilliant goal by attacker Akashdeep Singh in the 12th minute. 


However, they failed to hold on to the lead for long after Thierry Brinkman took advantage of a defensive lapse to score the equaliser.


India attempted to penetrate the opposition defence at regular intervals but failed to get a clear shot at the goal with Netherlands guilty of poor finishing at the same time.   


Despite repeated efforts from both the sides the scoreline remain unchanged as both sides went into the final quarter on level terms.


New Zealand hit back early at the start of the final quarter following a clinical finish by Mink Van der Meerden off a penalty corner. 


The hosts fought valiantly in an attempt to draw level at any cost but the visitors did enough to hold on to the lead. 


Here are the highlights: 



# India have been knocked out of the Hockey World Cup. 


# Netherlands 2-1 India. 


# Under a minute to go and India will be ruing the missed opportunities early on. Will the wait go on or can India achieve the impossible? 


#With under two minutes left on the clock, India are giving it their all to score the equaliser but have struggled to land the finishing touch which has been the case throughout the clash so far.  


# The defence manages to hold on in a vital clash with a referral going in favour of the hosts.  


# Netherlands have been handed a penalty corner with India short of a goalkeeper at a crucial stage. Can the defenders hold on? 


# With just three minutes left on the clock, Netherlands are attempting to indulge in time wastage tactics in order to frustrate the Indian attackers who are slowly losing control on the game.    


# Netherlands 2-1 India.


# Goal! Netherlands have taken a lead into the clash following a sublime finish off the penalty corner, which the defenders could do nothing to prevent. India 1-2 Netherlands 



# Netherlands have a genuine chance to score following an irresponsible tackle off a penalty corner. Can the Indian defence hold on? 


# With the last 13 minutes of the clash remaining, India nearly go behind 2-1 against Netherlands following a goal which was disallowed.


# Start of fourth quarter!   


# With just fifteen minutes left on the clock, both sides will be looking to put their best foot forward.  


# India 1-1 Netherlands at the end of the third quarter. 


# Netherlands have been on the frontfoot despite some excellent gameplay by the Indian defenders. Can India hold on?


# With three minutes to go for the end of the third quarter, India have been handed a green card and are down to 10 men which may be something they look back in regret at. 


# India have been sloppy with their gameplay, handing scoring opportunities to the visitors which nearly resulted in a winner for the Netherlands. The hosts need to tighten at the back.  


# With nine minutes left for the end of the third quarter, there has been a steady exchange of passes from players of both sides in search of a breakthrough.  


# However, some astute defending helps maintain the scoreline at 1-1 with a free hit awarded to the defence after being struck on the inside of the thigh.  


# Penalty corner for Netherlands who have been extremely effecient off set pieces in the tournament so far.   


# Both sides are pushing on in search of a winner with just over 12 minutes left for the end of the third quarter.  


# However, some astute defending by the Indian defenders helps keep the scoreline level.  


# Netherlands have won a penalty corner early on in the second half. 


# Start of third quarter! 



# India 1-1 Netherlands at half-time. 


# With just sixty seconds left on the clock for the end of the second quarter, India are attempting to surge forward in search of goal! Can they score a second goal? 


# Netherlands are down to ten players following a green card handed to attacker Bob de Voogd as a result of a nasty tackle


# India have managed to breakthrough an astute Netherlands defence but failed to land the ever-important finishing touch! Three minute left for the end of the second quarter


# The Indian attackers continue to push on in search of the second goal but have failed to do so despite enjoying the lion's share of possession! Five minutes left for the end of the second quarter!  


# India are looking to push on and score the second goal with some aggressive gameplay and excellent passing but the Netherlands defence has been formidable so far. 10 minutes left for the end of the second quarter. 


# Start of second quarter! 


# India 1-1 Netherlands at the end of the first quarter.



# The goal stands! India 1-1 Netherlands 


# A crucial moment in the game as the umpire reviews the Netherlands goal


# Goal! Netherlands have equalised in the clash following a fine finish by Thierry Brinkman with the scoreline reading 1-1 at this stage


# India 1-0 Netherlands



# Goal! India have scored off the penalty corner following a brilliant goal by attacker Akashdeep Singh who has been the man to watch out for in attack



# India have been handed their first penalty corner of the clash with three minutes left for the end of the first quarter! Can they do it? 


# Netherlands have been amongst the goals this tournament and that is certainly evident from the confident approach against an Indian defence which has been inch-perfect in all the fixtures so far. The Indian attackers on the other hand, have been comparatively sloppy in this clash with poor finishing and lack of coordination! 6 minutes to go for the end of the first quarter     


# The hosts are steadily making their presence felt in the clash with some neat, counter-attacking gameplay and steady defence. Nine minutes to go for the end of the first quarter   


# The clash has kicked off with the Netherlands off to a good start early on, stringing along passes in an accurate fashion. The Indian defenders are struggling to negotitate the attackers early on.       


# Start of first quarter! 



# Here are the lineups for this vital clash: 





India will be looking to maintain their unbeaten run after finishing on top of Pool C in the quarterfinals of the men's hockey World Cup against Netherlands on Thursday. 


The hosts last played in the semi-finals of the tournament way back in 1975 when they went on to lift their maiden title.


Netherlands hold the edge when it comes to clashes between the two nations, having registered a win in five out of the six clashes. 


Indian captain Manpreet Singh believes that the past results certainly hold significance but stated that the result will be determined on the pitch based on the performances, rather than statistics. 


"The past results matter a lot because Netherlands have a better result against us. But, we have played well against them recently. We have also beaten them, drew against them at the Champions Trophy. Indian hockey has improved a lot. The match will be tough and whichever team plays better will win,"said Manpreet. 


Opposition skipper Billy Bakker on the other hand, stated that there was more pressure on the Indian team as they had to perform in front of a home crowd. 


"The Indian team also has lot of pressure. They need to perform in front of their home crowd. So I feel the pressure is more on the Indian team than us," said Bakker.     


While the visitors are placed fourth in the current world rankings, India are a rung below in the fifth position.     


Here is the Indian squad:


Manpreet Singh (C), PR Sreejesh (GK), Krishna Bahadur Pathak (GK), Harmanpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Varun Kumar, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam, Surender Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Nilakanta Sharma, Hardik Singh, Sumit, Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Dilpreet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and Simranjeet Singh.