Hockey Test: India end winless streak against Australia with 4-3 victory in third match
This was India’s first win over the Kookaburras since 2016 and the result means India now trail 2-1 in the series vs Australia. India’s next match is on Saturday.
The Indian men’s hockey team broke its 12-match winless streak against world No. 1 Australia by winning the third match of the Test series 2022 by a 4-3 margin at the Mate Stadium in Adelaide on Wednesday.
This was India’s 13th win over Australia in 65 hockey matches and their first since 2016. The win also kept India alive in the five-match series after losing the previous two matches.
Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh (11’) once again opened the scoring while Abhishek (46’), Shamsher Singh (56’) and Akashdeep Singh (59’) scored the remaining goals for India.
Jack Welch (24’), Aran Zalewski (32’) and Nathan Ephraums (58’) scored for the hosts. Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was declared the Player of the Match for making multiple saves and keeping India in the contest.
India were compact in the first quarter and didn’t allow much space for the Australians in their own half. PR Sreejesh did his part to deny Australia an early lead.
On the other hand, India converted their first penalty corner of the match with captain Harmanpreet Singh’s drag-flick beating the Australian goalkeeper in the 11th minute.
Australia meanwhile maintained an attacking intent despite their star player Blake Govers being substituted due to a calf injury.
The hosts piled the pressure on the Indian backline in the second quarter. The Kookaburras earned back-to-back penalty corners in the 24th minute and found the breakthrough courtesy Jack Welch’s clever deflection off the rebound.
Australia were relentless after the second half began and were rewarded in the 32nd minute. They earned multiple penalty corners and Aran Zalewski found the net from point-blank range to make it 2-1 for Australia.
India earned their second penalty corner of the match early in the final quarter. The Australian goalkeeper seemed prepared for another Harmanpreet Singh drag-flick but India’s variation and Abhishek’s deflection caught him off guard.
Level at 2-2, India threw the kitchen sink at the hosts for the final few minutes in search of an elusive victory.
India failed to score through their third penalty corner but the team combined well to score the third goal from the fourth PC. Jugraj Singh’s drag-flick was initially saved but Shamsher Singh, the injector, ensured India took the 3-2 lead.
However, the world No. 1 Australian side stormed back in the 58th minute after Nathan Ephraums converted the rebound off a PC.
Just when it seemed the match was heading towards a draw, Mandeep Singh found Akashdeep Singh inside the D and India scored the first field goal of the match in the penultimate minute to secure a victory.
India and Australia meet for the fourth Test on Saturday. The five-match series, part of India’s FIH World Cup preparations, concludes on December 4.