Perth
The Indian men’s hockey team went down 2-4 against Australia in their second game of the five-match Test series. The see-saw affair witnessed Jeremy Hayward (6′, 34′). Jacob Anderson (42′), and Nathan Ephraums (45′) found the back of the net for Australia, while for India, Jugraj Singh (9′) and Captain Harmanpreet Singh (30′) scored a goal each. The game kicked off with India showcasing nimble passes and breaching Australia’s defensive line a few times. Nonetheless, it was the hosts who seized an early advantage when Jeremy Hayward (6′) converted a penalty corner with precision.
Despite Australia’s continued onslaught, pressing India with relentless attacks and earning consecutive penalty corners, they couldn’t convert them into goals. Meanwhile, India shifted their strategy to focus on counterattacks, a move that eventually paid off when Jugraj Singh (9′) levelled the score with a perfectly executed penalty corner, placing the ball expertly into the top right corner. Shortly after, Abhishek had a golden opportunity to put India in the lead as he found himself unmarked inside the D area with only the goalkeeper to beat, but his powerful shot narrowly missed the target, grazing wide off the post. The first quarter concluded with the score deadlocked at 1-1.
