India suffered a humiliating 1-5 defeat against World no 1 the Netherlands as the Men in Blue finished off their South Africa tour. in Cape Town on Sunday.
While Abhishek (39′) scored the lone goal for India in the match, Jip Janssen (10′, 28′), Duco Telgenkamp (16′), Tjep Hoedemakers (21′), and Koen Bijen (35′) were on target for the Dutch side.
The match began with Netherlands taking an early advantage as Jip Janssen (10′) found the back of the nets in the 10th minute to give his side the lead. Despite repeated attacks, India were unable to cover the deficit by the end of the first quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, Duco Telgenkamp (16′) doubled his side’s lead. Minutes later, Tjep Hoedemakers (21′) scored the third goal for the Netherlands, building more pressure on India.
Jip Janssen (28′) scored late in the second quarter as the Dutch side went into halftime with a 4-0 lead.
India began searching for early goals in the second half, but Koen Bijen (35′) managed to get another goal for the Netherlands.
Abhishek (39′) finally managed to get a goal back for India as the third quarter finished with India trailing 1-5.
India tried hard to reduce the margin in the final 15 minutes but the Netherlands defence continued to thwart away any signs of attacks. India, then crowded their defence in the last quarter, not allowing any more goals on their end.