India’s Hardik Singh strikes the ball straight down the turf with one minute left until the last hooter. Just beyond the circle, Akashdeep Singh receives the pass from Mandeep Singh, who then turns and hands the ball to him.
Akashdeep Singh makes one touch and puts the ball in the goal. Even though India scored it this time, the Australian goal is still a common one. From defense to attacking zone and intent, only three or four touches are required!
As a result of this hit, they won the third Test match 4-3. The 12-game losing record against Australia was eventually broken when they could maintain the lead until the 60th minute. India hasn’t defeated Australia since 2016, thus this is a significant victory (excluding shootouts).
Why then did India succeed?
First and foremost, the defense and PR Sreejesh deserve praise. The club lost both of its previous two games after giving up 12 goals in those contests.
Graham Reid, the head coach of India, had before talked about making adjustments without compromising the team’s natural approach. These adjustments on Wednesday made it easier to man-mark the Australians and close the gaps between the midfield and the defense.
Particularly in the second game of the series, when Australia scored seven goals, they took advantage of the openings in the middle of the field and punished the Indians. India made their midfield compact for this one, and one-on-one defense was generally strong throughout the game.
With their lethal efficiency, which is typically seen over the course of one or two quarters, Australia was unable to run away with the contest as they had in the previous games.
India was still in the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter even though Australia had a 2-1 lead due to their overall improvement.
Australia had it harder thanks to India’s defense, but India had a chance thanks to Sreejesh’s quality. For India to maintain a 1-0 lead, the seasoned goalie had previously produced an incredible triple save in the second quarter.
With India leading 3-2 and facing a penalty corner later in the fourth quarter, Sreejesh made an outstanding split save by blocking the shot with his right leg. A few seconds later, he stopped another penalty corner, but Nathan Ephraums pounced on the rebound and scored the close-range goal to tie the score at 3-3.
Then Akashdeep Singh arrived to make a point
When Akashdeep scored the game’s first goal, he sent a message to the world that he belonged on the team. He added two more goals to round out his hat trick in the same game.
Akashdeep wanted to establish his point after sitting out of the Pro League games against Spain and New Zealand. He has a great opportunity to ensure his place in the India World Cup team for 2023 during this tour of Australia. And he’s already done more than enough.
India’s victory kept the five-match series alive at 2-1, and it was a well-deserved victory. The weekend will be the day for the following two games.
After the game, two teams practiced shootouts, and it was the only awkward moment. Ky Willott was injured as a result of Sreejesh’s attempted tackle, which Australian coach Colin Batch referred to as “vicious conduct” with the explicit goal of taking the player out.
Blake Govers of Australia, who had been on fire this series, had suffered an injury and was unable to play in the second half.
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