Australia come from behind to beat India 2-1 in second Test
India stumbled to a 2-1 defeat against Australia in the second Test of the three-match Test series at the newly inaugurated Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International hockey stadium in Raipur on Sunday. This is India's first loss in their last five games, as Australia stamped their class with 26 circle penetrations, compared to India's nine.
The World No.1 side started the match brightly and pinned India back into their own half. The home team, however, began to find their groove after weathering the early pressure. The Men in Blue created their first good opening in the 7th minute of the first quarter, when Manpreet Singh put Sunil Sowmarpet through on goal, but Australian custodian Leon Hayward, rushed out of his goal and averted the danger.
Just a minute later, Hayward was forced to make another good save as a flick off Ramandeep Singh's stick deflected a long ball from Manpreet on target. It was Australia's turn to defend desperately, and they barely managed to hold on.
At the other end, Australia had a good chance to take the lead in the 14th minute, but Sreejesh showed his worth by keeping out Chris Ciriello's effort on goal. That save kept the score tied at 0-0 at the end of the first quarter.
VR Raghunath came on in the second quarter and immediately conceded a penalty corner by high sticking a ball, but thankfully for him, Sreejesh made a brilliant save to keep out Ciriello's attempt.
Australia went down to 10 men in the 22nd minute of the match, as Australian midfielder Flynn Ogilvie was suspended for two minutes for a green card. India took advantage of their numerical superiority with Devindar Walmiki providing the home side with the lead in the 8th minute of the second quarter. The forward calmly deflected in a cross from the left with Australia's defence providing him a lot of space and time inside the circle.
Just before the end of the second quarter, Australia received their second penalty corner of the match, but Raghunath redeemed his earlier mistake by bravely charging down Ciriello's attempt in the 28th minute of the game. That enabled India to go into the half-time break with a slim 1-0 lead. Australia, despite making 12 circle penetrations in the first two quarters, were unable to find the back of the net.
Australia pushed hard in the third quarter to score the equalizer, but Ciriello wasted a golden opportunity in the 35th minute. Australian star Kieran Govers released Jacob Whetton on the left, but his cross was steered wide by Ciriello.
Sreejesh pulled off another magnificent save in the 43rd minute, this time to keep out a reverse flick from Craig Thomas to maintain India's lead at the end of the third quarter.
Australia finally found the equalizer, and a deserved one, right at the start of the fourth quarter. 24-year-old Jacob Whetton deflected in Flynn Ogilvie's cross inside the circle.
Just a minute later, Aran Zalewski scored the winning goal as his cross was deflected into the net by Indian defender Danish Mujtaba.
India's quest for an equalizer was hampered by two yellow cards, first to Manpreet Singh and then to Raghunath, and the Men in blue had to play most of the fourth quarter with 10-men.
India's issues with late surges continues after the hosts had earlier conceded a late goal to draw the first match. The hosts now lag the three-match series 0-1 and need to win the crucial third Test tomorrow before going into the FIH Hockey World League Final on November 27.
