Hockey World League Semis: India take on mighty Aussies
The two unbeaten sides in Pool A of the Hockey World League (HWL) semi-finals face-off in the final league match. Ranked 9th in the world, India, with 2 wins and a draw, take on the top-ranked team in the tournament – the mighty Australia.
The hockeyroos, as the Australian team is fondly called, have demolished all their opponents in the tournament scoring 20 goals while conceding just 1 at the other end and have established themselves as the team to beat. The men in blue, on the other hand, are the only team in the competition to have qualified for the Rio Olympics and will be concentrating more on performances than results.
Let us take a look at the key factors that will decide the outcome of this tie:
Squad
India
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Harjot Singh
Defenders: Manpreet Singh, Birendra Lakra, Jasjit Singh Kular, Gurmail Singh
Halfbacks (Midfielders): Gurbaj Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Sardar Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Devindar Walmiki, Rupinder Pal Singh
Forwards: SV Sunil, Nikkin Thimmaiah, Yuvraj Walmiki, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Satbir Singh
Australia
Goalkeepers: Tyler Lovell, Andrew Charter
Defenders: Chris Ciriello, Tim Deavin, Mark Knowles, Kiel Brown, Fergus Kavanagh, Matthew Swann
Halfbacks (Midfielders): Simon Orchard, Eddie Ockenden, Daniel Beale, Glenn Simpson, Tristan White, Aran Zalewski
Forwards: Jamie Dwyer, Blake Govers, Kieran Govers, Jake Whetton, Matt Gohdes
Key Players
PR Sreejesh
Going up against top-ranked Australia, who have scored 20 goals in just 3 matches, we can be sure that India’s custodian, PR Sreejesh, will have a busy night. Sreejesh will have to be on his toes throughout the contest as the forwards comprising of the dangerous Govers brothers and the legendary Jamie Dwyer are in good touch. The 27-year old has been in good form as well and it will be an interesting battle for the neutrals. If India are to get a positive result out of this game, they will need their goalkeeper to step up.
Rupinder Pal Singh
If Rupinder Pal Singh can convert the penalty corners earned by the Indian team, then India has a nice chance of getting something out of the match. Australia have conceded just one goal in their three matches in this tournament and with Ciriello manning their defence, it will be tough for the Indians to score a field goal. Hence, the onus falls on the only specialist drag-flicker in the squad. Coming back from injury, Rupinder will have a point to prove as he was initially dropped from the squad.
Jamie Dwyer
The 36-year-old forward is the most experienced player in the game currently with 332 appearances for his national team. He has been remarkably brilliant in front of goal throughout his career and has scored 218 goals. He has already scored 2 field goals in this tournament and if India wants a result that is in their favour, they need to keep Dwyer quiet, which will take a monumental effort.
Blake Govers
The young forward has already made his mark at the international stage by scoring some sensational goals early in his career. The 18-year-old has already scored 5 goals in 3 matches for the Hockeyroos in the HWL semis. He is extremely potent from penalty corners, already finding the net 4 times in the tournament from short corners. Having scored 1/4th of the goals that the team has scored, the Aussies will be looking at Blake Govers to maintain his goalscoring touch as they enter the business end of the tournament.
Recent head to head
India has an edge over top-ranked Australia if we consider the last 5 meetings between them – India 3-2 Australia.
India defeated Australia in 3 matches out of 4 played in the Test series Down Under at the Perth International Stadium from 4th November to 9th November 2014. India lost the 1st match of the series 4-0, but made a stunning comeback in the series winning the next three matches 1-0, 2-1 and 3-1.
However, Australia got their revenge by beating India in the match for 3rd place at 2014 Champions Trophy held in Bhuvneshwar, India. Australia won that match by the narrowest of margins in their 2-1 win to silence the home crowd.
Form Guide
India: D-W-W-W-W
Australia: W-W-W-W-L
(Recent result first)
Prediction
With both teams looking in good touch, I do not expect either team to keep a clean sheet. Despite India getting the better of Australia in recent encounters, I expect the quality of the top-ranked team to come through.
I am going for: India 2-4 Australia
The match will be telecast live on StarSports at 19:30 IST.