India stun World Champions Australia to level series
PERTH, November 5 (PTI): The Indian men's hockey team bounced back in style against Australia, beating the World Champions 2-1 to level the four-match Test series at 1-1 on Wednesday. India started aggressively and kept the opponents' defence busy in the first two quarters. They managed to sneak into Australian defence-line and created good opportunities.
However, Australia drew first blood in the 30th minute when forward player Matt Gohdes deflected a shot and sent the ball into the goal, taking the lead before the end of second quarter.
In the third quarter, Australia earned a penalty corner which was well-defended by India before the visitors counter attacked the Australian D through a long pass. It was Sardar who cleverly forwarded the ball to Ramandeep Singh, who made no mistake in netting the ball, helping his team equalise in the 33rd minute.
The equaliser saw India increase their tempo as they attacked yet again the very next minute through a long pass into the opponents' D. This time, it was SV Sunil who single-handedly took the ball to the circle and cleverly put it past the goalkeeper, giving India the second goal and the lead. In the fourth and final quarter, both India and Australia fought neck-and-neck. India continued their attacking game till the last minute and tried to create more chances but they were now up against a defensive Australia, who managed to hold the scorecard till the final whistle. The third match of the series will be played on November 8.
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