SPORTS DESK
India opened their campaign down under with a 2-0 win over the WA Thundersticks at the Perth Hockey Stadium on Wednesday.
Birendra Lakra (23′) and Harmanpreet Singh (50′) secured a goal in each half to help the visitors win the opening match of the tour where they play the Australian National team on May 15 and May 17.
The match saw both the teams play fluent hockey inside the first quarter in few opportunities were created but could not be converted into goal.m.
First, it was debutant Jaskaran Singh who shot at goal in the 5th minute, but could not keep it on target, while the home team also tried their best to penetrate India’s defence, but were well kept out by a resilient defending by Harmanpreet and Rupinder Pal .
Experienced forward Akashdeep Singh also had a shot at goal towards the end of the first quarter, but WA Thundersticks’ Goalkeeper Ben Rennie made a fine save to deny the Indian.
India started dominating the proceedings in the second quarter as Captain Manpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh took turns to shoot at the home team’s goal, but could not beat the Goalkeeper.
It was in the 23rd minute,defender Birendra Lakra scored a field goal through a delightful finish to give his team a 1-0 lead.
WA Thundersticks tried to make a comeback in the match but Indian defence again proved to be too strong for the home side.
A well matched third quarter between the two sides kept the defenders of both the teams on their toes. First, it was WA Thundersticks who looked threatening through a circle entry, but India looked to catch the home side out on the counter led by Gursahibjit Singh.
The 40th minute saw Birendra Lakra in the thick of action again as he found Sumit on the edge of the circle, who showed a burst of pace and made a circle entry towards the right side, but could not produce a final pass. Mandeep Singh also found himself in a similar position two minutes later, but Thundersticks defended well to see out the third quarter.
The last quarter started well for the visitors as they pushed for a second goal, which finally came through a Penalty Corner in the 50th minute. Harmanpreet took a well-crafted drag-flick to put the ball into the back of the net and extend his team’s lead to two goals with 10 minutes remaining.