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In another thrilling men’s hockey contest, India managed to hold Australia to a 2-2 draw in the FIH Pro League match on Saturday (February 24). However, the Indian team was quickly deflated as they suffered a straight-out 3-0 loss in the shootout that followed, at the Birsa Munda Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha.
Both teams would leave the contest feeling they could have secured all three points from the game. While Australia would rue a missed penalty stroke, India would look at a few opportunities they failed to capitalize on too.
In the end though, it wasn’t a bad result for India as the Australians had won every match in the tournament prior to the game on Saturday.
The Indian team looked very error-prone at the start of the game as they made several mis-passes in the first quarter. The forward line was especially conspicuous by its lack of impact. But the defense did a good a job again and kept Australia at bay.
The second quarter saw more fluidity from the Indian team and they took the lead in the 20th minute. Harmanpreet Singh led from the front again and converted a penalty corner to put his team ahead.
However, India gave up that lead only three minutes later when they conceded a penalty stroke that was put into the net by Blake Govers.
India enjoyed a good period before half-time and managed to eke out another goal from a penalty corner. This time, though, it wasn’t the usual suspect Harmanpreet but part-timer Amit Rohidas, who scored to give his team the lead.
The Indian team manged to keep the lead intact in the entire third quarter and even came close to increasing it. However, with just one goal separating the two teams going into the fourth quarter, an Australian fightback was sure to materialize.
The Australians dominated the fourth quarter and it took some good saves and good reviews from India to keep them at bay. PR Sreejesh committed a massive error when he badly tackled an Australian attacker and conceded a penalty stroke, the visitors’ second of the game, but redeemed himself by making a save.
However, the Aussies soon nullified that gain by scoring in the 53rd minute and drawing level. India dangled on the edge but didn’t let go. They couldn’t create too many chances but denied Australia their seventh consecutive win in the tournament. The game headed to a shootout.
Unfortunately for the home team, it was a no-contest. Akashdeep Singh, Sukhjeet Singh and Lalit Kumar Upadhyay all missed their chances while Australia scored from all of their first three. The Kookaburras thus took the extra point.
Now, let’s look at the individual efforts from India through our player ratings.
Player ratings for India from FIH Pro League game vs Australia
Abhishek – 5/10
The Indian forward didn’t make much of an impact in this game. With Australia making most of the attacks, he didn’t get supplied enough, but didn’t create any magic either.
Manpreet Singh – 7/10
Manpreet was his usual efficient self in the midfield. He did put in the hard yards and played a key role in keeping Australia from scoring more.
Hardik Singh - 6/10
The heart of this team, Hardik, didn’t play at his usual high level. He spent more time falling back and helping out the defense than creating chances for the forward line. He needs to be more creative in the front too.
Gurjant Singh – 6/10
Gurjant was an also-ran in this match. He didn’t commit any mistakes nor make any dazzling moves.
Krishan Bahadur Pathak – 7/10
As Sreejesh suffered a knee injury during the second quarter, Pathak had to take extra responsibility. As usual, the boy from Kapurthala didn’t disappoint. He did a fair job in front of the goal and even took a crucial review against a penalty corner.
Harmanpreet Singh – 8/10
The skipper was brilliant again in this match. While he was on the scorecard with the first goal of the match, what also made a big difference was his unruffled defending at the back. The way he manages to clear the ball and deal with the forwards in tricky situations is a huge asset for his team.
Lalit Kumar Upadhyay – 5/10
The fact that both of India’s goals came from penalty corners is an indication that the forward line didn’t rise to the occasion. Lalit was one of those who would have wanted to do more.
PR Sreejesh – 5/10
It wasn’t the best match for the veteran India goalie despite him having saved a penalty stroke. He was himself responsible for conceding that stroke. An injury in the second quarter wouldn’t have helped matters either. His failure to save any attempts in the shootout closed out a bad day at the office.
Sumit – 8/10
Among defenders, Sumit produced a good effort as he made some crucial saves in around the circle. Alongside Harmanpreet, he was chiefly responsible for holding Australia down to two goals.
Shamsher Singh – 6/10
Shamsher was another member of the team who didn’t play a big enough role in the attacking moves.
Raj Kumar Pal – 6/10
Very active at the start of the game, Raj Kumar’s influence subsided substantially towards the end of the game.
Akashdeep Singh – 8/10
Akashdeep played the sort of role for the Indian team that he did in the World Cup last year. One of the better forwards on the day, he was also constantly helping out the defense by quickly retreating when needed. It was an all-round effort from the designated striker.
Amit Rohidas – 5/10
Though he scored a goal, Amit was jittery in defense. This is an unusual sight but the Odisha defender made some mis-passes in the match.
Jugraj Singh – 5/10
Jugraj is still trying to emerge as a reliable backup to Harmanpreet in PC routines. As a defender also, he wasn’t always smooth with his passes.
Vivek Sagar Prasad – 7/10
The diminutive midfielder is a valuable member of the team and was very active in the midfield again today. He is good at making long, incisive passes and also does a lot of running for his team.
Sukhjeet Singh – 5/10
Sukhjeet seems to have the problem that afflicted Indian hockey for a long time after the introduction of astro-turfs – the tendency to overdo the dribbling bit. He is indeed a brilliant dribbler, but on more than one occasion in this match, he went overboard with his solo effort and gave away the possession.
Vishnukant Singh – 5/10
Vishnukant was very active in the right-hand side of the field during the first quarter. However, he didn’t make any decisive moves that helped his team.
Sanjay – 5/10
He is another player who wasn’t very prominent in this contest. More would be needed from him.
