Both teams played similar structures at Marist Park on Friday, but New Zealand opted to press down the wing as India focused on opportunistic counter attacks. Having beaten the hosts in two consecutive matches, Team India will look forward to continue their winning form and take the series in their name.
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The first quarter started with a series of attacks initiated by the Indian side that dominated the entire session. Nikkin Thimmaiah, Akashdeep Singh and SV Sunil continuously attacked the opponent’s D and did not allow the opponent’s defence to settle down.
They were well-supported by midfielders, led by captain Sardar Singh, who covered nearly all parts of the field and kept the home side players busy.
Finally in the 41st minute, the game saw the first goal of the game coming from the stick of Nick Ross, who collected the pass from Steve Edwards and finished calmly to give New Zealand a 1-0 lead over India.
India successfully held its goal-post with its strong defence line, which includes Birendra Lakra, VR Raghunath, Kothajit Singh, Gurjinder Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh. While, New Zealand was seen in desperation to score goals, the Indian boys in the 60th minute turned around the table in their favour when Dharamvir Singh penetrated the nets through a reverse hit which concluded the game at 3-2 in favour of India.
Riding on a series of attacks, New Zealand earned a penalty corner in the 54th minute but Sreejesh dived to his left to make a brilliant save.
“The team is very positive after the consecutive victories against the home side. In the areas that we have been working on there has been good progress – I think it was our best performance even though we didn’t win the game”, said the Black Sticks coach Colin Batch.
New Zealand stuck to their pressing tactics, but it was a move off a counter attack that saw them level the score.
Akashdeep Singh then pierced through the New Zealand defence but his attempt was thwarted as both the teams failed to open their account at the halfway break.
“I hope we continue the winning streak and confront the opponents confidently tomorrow to come up as winners”, the 28-year-old added.
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The series was a build up for the Oceania Cup (21-25 October) in Taranaki featuring the men’s and women’s teams from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa. More details about the live stream will be published on www.hockeynz.co.nz ahead of the series starting.
