Focus on defence as Indian men’s hockey team gear up to face Australia in the third match of the Test series

The Indian Men’s Hockey team will be looking to address their defensive issues as they take field against Australians in the 3rd match. The first two matches ended in the favour of the hosts and hence India will look to put some pressure on the Aussies and also look to be more solid at the back which has been the primary issue for the men in blue.

India have done well in attack as they took the lead twice in two games but their poor defense meant that the hosts came back roaring and simply could not deal with it, losing both the matches in a 5-match test series.

Graham Reid’s men were toe to toe with the Aussies in the first match as they were defeated by a last minute winner from the hosts. The match ended 5-4 as India did give a fair account of themselves despite the loss.

In the second match, India were leading through a Harmanpreet Singh goal in the third minute of the match. However a wild final quarter swayed the game towards Australia as the hosts brushed India aside with a 7-4 scoreline.

Itis a crucial series for both the teams as they prepare for the upcoming FIH Hockey World CUp scheduled to start on January 13 in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. Harmanpreet Singh shared how the team needs to cover up even the slightest of the gaps in defence. He wants the team to have a better structure while they defend.

“We have gone through the errors we have made in the first two matches. Australia is so quick in converting from the set plays even if they find the slightest of gaps, hence we must structure our defence better,” Harmanpreet stated.

While the scoreline might suggest something else, both the matches between India and Australia were closely fought. The intensity in these games are always high when these two teams go up against each other.

Harmanpreet Singh suggested how a high scoring match often leads to many penalty corners opportunities. He acknowledges the good work done by the Indian players in getting those opportunities he also feels that they have given away too many penalty corners which the team will have to take extra care in the future games.

“When it is high-scoring matches and both teams are going full steam in their attack, one too many penalty corners are created,” Harmanpreet said. “While we have managed to create penalty corners and also score from it, we have given away quite a few PCs as well which need to be curtailed in the upcoming matches,” Harmanpreet Singh added.

This young Indian team has gained some great experience in playing against Australia in their den and this will suit them very nicely as they will take on comparatively lower ranked opponents in the upcoming World Cup. The Indian team are in Pool D along with England, Wales and Spain. The Men in Blue will be looking to make the most of this tour as they really want to make it big in this World Cup where they will be playing in front of their home crowd.