Harmanpreet Singh and his teammates are seen in action in this file.Credit for India started off well by taking a lead in the first half, but its defense gave way after that, and the team lost the fourth hockey Test 1-5 to Australia, giving up a 3-1 lead in the five-match series on Saturday.
On Sunday, the series’ final match will be played.After losing the first two matches, India had won the third one. After a determined defensive performance by Harmanpreet and Co. In a goalless first quarter, India’s comeback man Dilpreet Singh (25th) scored early to give India the lead.
However, Jeremy Hayward (29th) and Jake Whetton (30th) scored in just 50 seconds as India’s defense gave way toward the end of the second quarter.The Kookaburra’s lead was extended by Tom Wickham (34th) before Hayward (41st) completed his pair.
With a low volley that deflected past Krishan Pathak in the 54th minute, Matt Dawson scored.
However, Pathak, who took over for the experienced Sreejesh, made some admirable saves to save India from further humiliation.Harvey made some fantastic raids from the midfield for the hosts on a sultry afternoon. The hosts played like they were on top of their game.
But the world says no.During a scoreless first quarter, one team was unable to break through the resolute Indian defense, which was well-defended by Sreejesh.Pathak started the game strong and made a great save in the second quarter to stop Nathan Ephraums.Dilpreet scored a brilliant goal against the flow of play to give India the lead, giving them the impression that they could tie the series.
Dilpreet quickly broke through the defense from the top of the striking circle and turned sharply before smashing it into the bottom corner.However, India’s lead was only for about five minutes before player of the match Hayward scored with a superbly placed drag-flick.Before Pathak could react, he dragged the ball for a long time before sending it into the top right corner at lightning speed.
The world number one went from 0-1 down to 2-1 up in the blink of an eye .
when Whetton struck off an assist from Jack Welch, demonstrating his poaching skill.He broke through the defense from the top of the D after receiving the ball and surged in before unleashing an incredible strike.It seemed to be the turning point, as the home team put on more pressure and the Indian defense lost its speed and energy.
After Wickham’s first attempt was unsuccessful from close range, he got lucky again.Sreejesh appeared to have stopped the shot, but the ball popped up and ended up in the net, adding to India’s misery.Australia never trailed again, taking a commanding 4-1 lead into the final quarter thanks to Hayward’s two goals.
Any semblance of Harmanpreet, Hardik Singh and Nilakanta Sharma intrigued and set out open doors however couldn’t find the objective and match their heavyweight rivals.In the third Test here on Wednesday, India scored a last-gasp goal to defeat the hosts 4-3 and keep the series alive at 1-2 going into the final test.India lost the first Test by a narrow margin of 4-5, and in their next match, it lost 4-7 to a hat trick by Blake Govers.