Times of India: 2nd Hockey Test: Whetton, Zalewski help Australia go 1-0 up against India

ouple of deflected field goals in the fourth quarter got Australia over the line 2-1 against India in the second of the three-match Hockey Test between the two nations at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel International Hockey Stadium in Raipur. Jacob Whetton and Aran Zalewski netted a goal in a difference of two minutes – 46th and 48th – allowing the hosts to overshadow an attacking display by India in the initial stages of the match.

Almost half an hour after the Indian junior team got the better of arch-rivals Pakistan, the seniors couldn’t quite follow as they would have liked. India followed a similar script to what transpired in the first Test – holding the lead for the most part, only to squander the advantage in the fag end.

India started out strong and got close to the Australian net on quite a few occasions but couldn’t score. Both teams started strongly and India almost took an early lead but S.V. Sunil missed the mark despite having the Australian goalkeeper at his mercy. The hosts seemed to be running out of steam in the attacking third and were unable to come up with that one decisive pass.

Australia then began to counter attack, an effort that saw them pose a few threats, but goalkeeper Sreejesh PR, who clearly looked to be in his elements, made a few crucial saves to deny the visitors a goal. Devinder Walmiki drew first blood, when he made most of a minute lapse from Australia and scored in the 23rd minute to give India the lead. Amir Khan ran to the left before picking out Walmiki inside the penalty circle. He made no mistake, scoring with a one-touch finish.

India held most of the possession in the first-half, after which both teams threatened each other’s goalkeepers back and forth with an array of shots. Till the end of third quarter, India managed to hold on to their lead, but Australia’s uncanny ability to bounce back when least expected is what got them through. India’s defence has been caught off-guard in the closing stages of the game and that’s exactly where Australia capitalised.

The Indians ran into trouble at the start of the fourth and final quarter as the visitors struck twice in two minutes. Just as India seemed to close out and register themselves in the series, the pressure mounting on the Indian defence took its toll and Whetton sensed it to produce a fabulous effort from the edge of the penalty circle which took a deflection before finding the top corner of the far post.

Two minutes later, they took the lead with Aran Zalewski scoring in a similar manner – the ball took a deflection off Rupinder Pal Singh’s stick, catching Sreejesh on the wrong foot – as the game finished 2-1. Back-to-back goals left Indian players annoyed and their frustration was evident when Manpreet Singh was yellow-carded for a rough tackle.

With the first game ending in a draw, the onus is now on India to stage a comeback in order to get level-pecked. The first match had concluded 2-2 on Thursday.