Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Dec 4: India fell 4-5 to Australia in the decisive match, handing the five-Test hockey series 1-4 to the top-ranked team in Adelaide on Sunday despite captain Harmanpreet Singh’s brace.
Aran Zalewski (30th), Jacob Anderson (40th), and Jake Whetton (54th) also scored goals for Australia, which also had two goals from Tom Wickham (2nd, 17th). Amit Rohidas (34th) and Sukhjeet Singh (55th) also found the opposing goal for India, who also received two penalty corner conversions from Harmanpreet (24th, 60th).
Before winning the following match 4-3, India had dropped the first two Test matches 4-5 and 4-7. They dropped the third match 1-5.
Australia was clearly the superior team on show as they dominated the first two quarters. India, on the other hand, appeared timid and took its time to get going.
With Wickham scoring from the top of the circle with a strong strike as early as the second minute, Australia lost no time in punishing India.
In the first quarter, the Indians barely produced any chances and failed to apply pressure to the Australian defence. In the 17th minute, Wickham doubled Australia’s advantage. Lachlan Sharp grabbed the ball from the Indian defence in the middle of the field and advanced past a number of them to set up Wickham, who scored from a one-on-one with India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh.
In the 24th minute, Harmanpreet successfully converted a penalty corner for India to get one back.
Soon after, Australia was awarded two straight penalty corners, however Jeremy Hayward was stopped by a fine save from India’s backup goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak.
Aran Zalewski, however, scored from close range seconds before halftime for the Kookaburras after Pathak made a pair of saves to keep Anderson off the scoreboard.
After the change of ends, India launched an onslaught that cut the lead to 3-2. Amit Rohidas scored with a potent shot from a tight angle.
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A few minutes later, with Australia continuing to apply pressure on the Indian defence, Sreejesh made a deft save to deny Sharp. When Anderson pushed Daniel Beale’s ball in at the 40-minute mark, Australia increased their lead.
In response to the Kookaburras’ relentless pressure on the Indian backline, Whetton scored close-range to give the home team a 5-2 lead. The neIndian was promptly met with an Indians response, and Sukhjeet found himself in a good position to contribute to a good team effort.
India earned a penalty corner in the last minute of play, and Harmanpreet wasn’t about to pass up the chance to cut the lead to 4-5. But with so little time left to score an equalizer that was all the Indians could muster.
