India eye cohesive effort to keep 5-Test hockey series alive against Aus

Perth: The Indian men’s hockey team would aim for a cohesive effort to avoid a hat-trick of losses when it takes on a formidable Australia in the third Test of the five-match series here on Wednesday. The Indians were drubbed 1-5 and 2-4 by Australia in the first two matches of the series, which is a part of preparations for this year’s Paris Olympics for both the sides.

The tour is of huge significance for India as it will provide valuable inputs about the areas to improve to chief coach Craig Fulton. And the first two matches have already done that as the Indian defence was put under continuous pressure by quick turnovers by the Kookaburras. The Indian defence, led by skipper Harmanpreet Singh, did not have the best days in the first two games as it wilted when put under pressure and conceded both penalty corners and soft field goals. The lack of ideas from the forwards inside the opposition circle is another area the Indians would need to address.

The likes of Mandeep Singh, Abhishek, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Gurjant Singh and Sukhjeet need to make use of the chances they get if they are to outplay a strong side like Australia. The Indian mid-field, however, has been decent so far. Vice-captain Hardik Singh has been the backbone of the mid-field, which combined well with the strikers, to create plenty of

opportunities.