Before winning the following match 4-3, India had dropped the first two hockey Test matches 4-5 and 4-7. They dropped the third match 1-5.
India fell 4-5 to Australia in the decisive match, handing the five-Test hockey series 1-4 to the top-ranked team in Adelaide on Sunday despite captain Harmanpreet Singh’s brace.
Aran Zalewski (30th), Jacob Anderson (40th), and Jake Whetton (54th) also scored goals for Australia, which also had two goals from Tom Wickham (2nd, 17th). Amit Rohidas (34th) and Sukhjeet Singh (55th) also found the opposing goal for India, who also received two penalty corner conversions from Harmanpreet (24th, 60th).
Prior to their 4-3 victory in the following match, India had dropped the first two Test matches, 4-5 and 4-7. They suffered a 1-5 defeat in the fourth game.
The first two quarters were completely under control by Australia, who were by far the superior team on the show.
However, India appeared tentative and took its time to get going. Wickham’s strong strike from the top of the circle in the second minute was Australia’s swift retaliation against India. In the first quarter, the Indians did little to create chances and did not apply any pressure to the Australian defense.
In the 17th minute, Wickham increased Australia’s lead with two goals.
Lachlan Sharp intercepted the ball in the middle of the field and advanced past a few Indian defenders to set up Wickham, who scored from close range in a one-on-one match with India goalkeeper PR Sreejesh. When Harmanpreet successfully converted a penalty corner in the 24th minute, India was able to get one back.
Jeremy Hayward was denied by a fine save from India’s backup goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak after Australia quickly secured
But only seconds before halftime, Aran Zalewski scored from close range after Pathak made two saves to keep Anderson off the scoreboard. This gave the Kookaburras their two-goal lead back. Amit Rohidas scored a decisive goal with a strong shot from a tight angle as India launched an attack right after the change of ends to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Later on, as Australia kept piling pressure on the Indian defense, Sreejesh made a superb save to deny Sharp. When Anderson pushed Daniel Beale’s ball in, Australia increased their lead at that point.
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