Harpal Singh Bedi
Navneet Kaur and Deep Grace Ekka scored a goal each to enable Indian Women’s hockey team to beat Australia ‘A’ 2-1 in their fifth and final game of their tour in Adelaide on Saturday. Abigail Wilson (22′) scored for the hosts.. This was India’s only win in the five games they played on this tour. The visitors lost three match series against Australia 2-0, with one match ending in a draw. Against Australia ‘A’ they lost one and won one.
Putting behind the 2-3 loss in the previous encounter , India put up a spirited display in this last game .Though they took time to settle down, their defence led by Gurjit Kaur remained alert in the defence and did not allow the rivals to enter inside the circle.
Soon the visitors launched fierce counter attack putting the rival defence under pressure. They earned three quick penalty corners and Navneet Kaur (10′) scored the first goal with a reverse hit to give her side the lead.
The second quarter started with India continuing with their attacking tactics thus keeping the pressure on the rivals. But Australia ‘A’ managed to get a shot on target from a quick counter-attack, only for Captain Savita to make the save.
The hosts earned their first Penalty Corner of the night midway into the second quarter, and Abigail Wilson (22′) struck the back of nets with a drag flick to level the scoreline. But minutes later, Deep Grace Ekka (25′) put India back in the lead with a drag flick of her own on a penalty corner. With Vandana Katariya building an attack from the left flank at the start of the second half, India earned another quick penalty corner. But this time, Australian defence managed to avert the danger.
Controlling the midfield, Neha Goyal set up penetrating runs for Indian attackers as the ‘ defence felt the pressure. India managed to maintain their 2-1 lead as the third quarter came to a close.
Vandana continued to put pressure at the start of the final quarter, with a dribbling run inside the circle. With 15 minutes left on the clock, both the teams started showcasing urgency. India earned a late penalty corner to create another chance to increase their lead. But Australia defence managed to save the set-piece to keep themselves in the contest.
India kept possession in the final few minutes to prevent the rivals from creating an attacking opportunity and won the thrilling encounter 2-1.