Hockey News: India beat Australia 4-3 to keep series alive
The Indian men's hockey squad secured a 4-3 victory over Australia in the third match of the India Tour of Australia at the Mate Stadium in Adelaide, Australia, on November 30
India beats AustraliaWithin the regulation time, Harmanpreet Singh in the 12th minute, Abhishek in the 47th minute, Shamsher Singh in the 57th minute, and Akashdeep Singh in the 60th minute were the goalscorers for Australia.
In contrast, Jack Welch scored for Australia in the 25th minute, Aran Zalewski in the 32nd minute, and Nathan Ephraums in the 59th minute.
The Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh ensured that the Indian squad prepared well for their third clash against Australia with a strong focus on one-on-one defence.
India began the match aggressively and raced to a 1-0 lead in the first quarter after Harmanpreet Singh opened the scoring for India with an excellent drag flick past the Australian goalkeeper Johan Durst.
Australia got an opportunity to level the score in the ending moments of the opening quarter, but India's goalkeeper PR Sreejesh stopped three shots in quick succession to maintain the lead for India.
However, Australia finally equalized the score in the 25th minute of the match after Jack Welch slotted the ball into the Indian goal on a rebound.
Australia earned another penalty corner in the second minute of the second half. Aran Zalewski took the shot and made it 2-1 for Australia with a fantastic strike.
The visitors did not falter and kept on pushing consistently. Abhishek levelled the score for India with a slight deflection after receiving the ball from Harmanpreet Singh.
The final four minutes of the match saw three goals scored. Shamsher Singh and Akashdeep Singh scored for India, while Nathan Ephraums added one for Australia.
The final goal scored by Akashdeep Singh in the 60th minute with the help of Mandeep Singh secured India's maiden victory over Australia within regulation time in six years.
After the victory, India's coach Graham Reid said, "It was a better defensive effort today. We put up a good fight back on a couple of occasions. We fought hard and it was a good character-building game for us ahead of the World Cup in January."
The Indian men's hockey squad will face Australia in the fourth match of the India Tour of Australia on December 3.