India go down to Australia in second hockey test

India conceded a couple of late goals to go down 1-2 to Australia in the second hockey test at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel International Hockey Stadium here on Sunday.

India enjoyed the lead for most of the match after Devender Walmiki scored in the 23rd minute. But Australia struck back-to-back goals in the last quarter through Jacob Whetton (47th) and Aran Zalewski (48th) to claim a well deserved victory. The visitors have now taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match test series. The first match had ended in a 2-2 draw on November 19.

The Indian defenders and midfielders gave a good account of themselves and matched the Australians blow for blow for much of the game. But the hosts seemed to run out of steam in the attacking third and were unable to come up with that decisive final pass. The Indian strikers were also guilty of wasting the few scoring chances that came their way. Both teams started strongly and India alsmost took an early lead but SV Sunil missed the mark despite having the Australian goalkeeper at his mercy. Australia gradually started to get into their groove as the opening quarter wore on and started to put the Indian defence under constant pressure. The Indians responded with the occassional counterattack, but were thwarted by the visitors’ defence.