The first quarter started with a series of attacks coming in
from the Indian side who dominated the entire session. Without wasting much
time, Akashdeep Singh broke into the opponents defence from the left flank
but unfortunately his attack was stopped by New Zealand ’s Nick Haig. In the
10th minute India was
awarded with a penalty corner which was effectively converted by Rupinder Pal
Singh giving India
the much required lead of 1-0. The opening goal got the hosts on the back
foot and they tried to get back in the game but were continuously denied by the
strong Indian defence leaving the scorecard at 1-0 in favour of India at the
end of the quarter.
In the second quarter of the game, India dominated
the early part with attempts from Nikkin Thimmaiah who pushed the ball into the
opponent’s inner circle from the left flank as he passed the ball to Mandeep
Singh but unluckily his deflection went wide off the post. This was followed by
the New Zealand strikers counter attack as they broke through the Indian
defence by an unmarked Jared Panchia, who, from a cross ball scored a field
goal in the 22nd minute and equalised the score at 1-1. Going ahead in to
the game dextrously, the Kiwi Team yet again got an opportunity to
take the lead through a penalty corner but Nick Haig flicked the ball off
the target. With this, the first half of the game ended with a levelled score
of 1-1.
With the change of ends, both the teams tried to make
continuous efforts to pierce the opponents half but could not find a way through.
It was in the 41st minute when Akashdeep Singh surged ahead and gave a
well crafted pass to Ramandeep Singh who calmly finished, giving India its
second goal through a field effort which advanced the scores at 2-1 in the
visiting team's favour. With each added goal, New Zealand boys were seen in
tremendous pressure to equalise the score but the Indian defence stood strong
to wipe out all the scoring opportunities for them. However, the third quarter
finished with India
leading 2-1.
The Indian team got a great chance to extend its lead in the
early minutes of the fourth quarter with Nikkin Thimmaiah running into the Kiwi
defence with classical personal skills but the Kiwi defence blocked the attack
without any damage. On the other side, New Zealand counter attacked and
levelled the score at 2-2 in the 52nd minute with a field goal coming from
the stick of Steve Edwards. As the scores were equalled on 2-2, India intensified the attacks on the opponent
and Sardar Singh initiated a move from the left side of the post and pushed a
cross ball inside the New
Zealand ’s D which went wide. While, New Zealand was seen in desperation to score
goals, the Indian boys in the 60th minute turned around the table in their
favour when Dharamvir Singh penetrated the nets through a reverse hit which
concluded the game at 3-2 in favour of India .
Hockey India release
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