India stuns Australia 2-1, take lead in hockey series

Perth, November 8, 2014: Playing their 3rd match both India and Australia were looking at a win as this would allow them to take the lead in the Test series. Playing his 100th International Cap, Rupinder Pal Singh came into the match as the Captain in the absence of Sardar Singh. Taking the opportunity to the hilt, Rupinder led the team to victory and giving India its second consecutive win in the series.

The game started with both teams looking at attacking the opponents D, but their efforts did not yield any results in the entire session, leaving the scorecard 0-0. With a goalless 1st quarter the second quarter was very important for both the teams as they looked at opening their score and take an edge on the game. The Indian boys troubled the defenders on a couple of occasions but were unable to net the goal. The second quarter even saw both teams unable to open the scorecard and at the end of halftime the game was still 0-0 leaving the last two quarters as the decider session of this all important third match.

Coming into the 3rd quarter it was finally India who broke the shackles and scored the opening goal which left the Kookaburras stunned. In the 34th minute SV Sunil did not make any mistake of netting the ball from a  beautiful pass from Akashdeep Singh. The goal saw the Indians raising their game and becoming more aggressive in their attack. They not only ensured good possession but even kept the pressure on the opponent’s defense. At the end of the 3rd quarter it was India leading the game which put huge pressure on the opponents to get back into the game in the last 15 minutes of the game.

The Australians knew it was not an easy task to score today keeping in the mind the way the Indian boys were performing on the field but they knew they had to play to take the game away from India. The last quarter saw the Indian defenders skilfully tackling the opponents whenever the Kookaburras attacked the D of India.  With the 4th quarter yet again being goalless, India retained the lead and ensured a win. With this win India is leading 2-1 in the series.

HI Press release