Perth, Apr 8:
The Indian Men’s Hockey Team faced a tough defeat against Australia in their second game of the five-match Test series held here on Sunday.
The game witnessed a back-and-forth battle with Australia ultimately prevailing 4-2 over India.
The match began with India displaying skilful passing and managed to penetrate Australia’s defence several times. However, it was Australia who took the early lead when Jeremy Hayward converted a penalty corner with precision in the 6th minute.
Despite Australia’s continuous pressure and numerous penalty corners, they couldn’t capitalise on them, thanks to India’s resilient defence.
India adjusted their strategy to focus on counterattacks, resulting in Jugraj Singh levelling the score with a well-executed penalty corner in the 9th minute.
India had an opportunity to take the lead through Abhishek but narrowly missed the target. The first quarter ended with the score tied at 1-1.
In the second quarter, India managed to break the deadlock just before halftime when Captain Harmanpreet Singh converted a penalty corner, putting India ahead 2-1.
Australia came back strongly in the third quarter, with Hayward scoring his second goal from a penalty corner in the 34th minute. Jacob Anderson and Nathan Ephraums also found the back of the net, giving Australia a 4-2 lead by the end of the third quarter.
Despite India’s efforts to stage a comeback in the final quarter, Australia’s solid defence prevented any further goals. The match concluded with a 4-2 victory for Australia.
