India vs Australia hockey Test series: Kookaburras overpower lackadaisical India
The Indian men's team started the five-Test hockey series against Australia on a disappointing note as they lost 5-1 to the home team on Saturday, April 6.
In the opening contest played at Perth, India went into the match without their best player - Hardik Singh. And it showed, as the Indian team found it hard to keep possession and get the ball forward.
Australia got the lead early on, in the third minute, as the Indian team took its time to settle down. Tim Brand overpowered Jarmanpreet Singh in the circle to score the opening goal of the match.
Australia, with their intense and fast-paced style were not allowing India to retain possession. Most of the first quarter was spent in Australia attacking the Indian goal.
The first penalty corner for the Harmanpreet Singh-led team came in the 10th minute. It was Shamsher Singh who took the shot but fired it wide.
Meanwhile, at the other end, PR Sreejesh was kept busy. He made two penalty corner saves and also a shot on goal.
Mohammed Raheel, playing only his fifth game, showed some promise with a couple of good runs.
In the second quarter, a dazzling run from Manpreet Singh earned India another penalty corner, but to no avail.
Basic errors afflict the Indian team
What was most disappointing for the Indian team were instances of mistrappings. This basic error prevented India from keeping the ball and building up to an attack. They were also struggling to win one-on-one contests and giving easy turnovers.
The team seemed more keen on long passes and overhead balls to clear the midfield. But those didn't always pay dividends.
In the 20th minute, the Kookaburras doubled their lead, with Tom Wickham making his mark on the scoresheet. This was bound to happen as Australia were repeatedly foraying into the Indian circle.
India did have a long period of possession towards the end of the first half. However, they seemed incapable of penetrating into the circle or even going into the last 25 of Australia.
Australia blow away the Indian defense in the second half
Things didn't get any better for India after the halftime break. Australia quickly got back their attacking sharpness and struck two goals in quick succession. Joel Rintala, who failed to score from two penalty corners earlier, deflected a cross in the 37th minute to make the score 3-0.
In the very next minute, Tom Wickham unleashed a furious hit from the right to beat Sreejesh. It was 4-0 now and India seemed clueless.
Though the Indian team was managing to be a little more assertive in one-on-one contests and willing to fight for the ball, the mistakes remained. Too many mistrappings aborted what could have been good moves forward.
In the last quarter, the Indian team finally came alive. An Australian penalty corner led to a quick counter-attack from India and Gurjant Singh got beside his marker to score India's first goal, in the 47th minute.
What followed was India's best spell in the match. They started to find ways through the midfield. The main reason for this was their willingness to drive the ball forward rather than look for long, hopeful passes.
However, it was Australia who scored the next and last goal of the match. A penalty corner saw the first shot being stopped by Krishan Pathak. But the rebound was put into the net by Flynn Ogilvie. This sealed a 5-1 win for Australia.