India began the England leg of their FIH Pro League campaign in fine fashion, defeating arch-rivals Pakistan 4-3 here on Tuesday.

Pakistan began the game on the front foot, as Ahmad Nadeem opened the scoring in the eighth minute. India hit back with a goal each from Abhishek (22’) and Nilakanta Sharma (24’) in the second quarter, before Sukhjeet Singh (40’) and Rajinder Singh (52’) extended India’s lead. However, India nearly botched their comfortable lead as Pakistan’s Abu Mahmood (53’) and Moin Shakeel (60’) whittled down the Men in Blue’s three-goal cushion.