Indian Men Hockey Team enters final of the XX Commonwealth Games 2014, defeats New Zealand 3-2 in the semi-finals

Scotland, 2 August 2014: With odds stacked against them and Captain Sardar Singh not playing the semi-final match today, Rupinder Pal Singh and team showed they were adamant to take a spot in the Finale game tomorrow. Trailing the game 2-1 at half time, India took it on them to not allow the opponents to take home a win and showcased their intent in the second half which left the opponents stunned and trailing.

 The match went underway with the Kiwis taking immediate possession of the ball and attacking the D of India. In the very 2nd minute into the game, Simon Child scored for his team through a field goal. P R Sreejesh immediately asked for a video referral against the goal and which was turned down, resulting in New Zealand taking the early lead over India.

 Moving on from the early setback, India in its bid to level the scores kept the goalkeeper and opponents defence busy but somehow missed out on cashing on in the opportunities. In the 18th minute New Zealand were awarded with a penalty corner and cashed in on the opportunity when Nick Haig scored, taking the lead to 2-0.

 It was finally in the 28th minute when India earned a penalty corner. In a bid to save the goal, Dean Couzins ended up giving India a penalty stroke which was taken and executed by Rupinder Pal Singh. This took the score to 2-1 with the Black Sticks leading. Showing urgency in the last few minutes of the first half, India tried to equalize before going into the break but were unsuccessful and the score card read 2-1 with India trailing.

 The second half started with India pressing to equalise the score but were met by the good defence of the opponents. In the 42nd minute, attacking the semi-circle of the opponents, a brilliant pass by Manpreet Singh was met with a superb touch by Ramadeep Singh which took the ball past New Zealand’s goalkeeper, taking the game to the equalizer. This left the Black Sticks stunned as they finally lost hold on the game. From here it was anyone’s game and India realised the importance of this, looked on fire as they kept their attack on the D of the opponents and pressed to take the lead in the game.

 The lead for India finally came through Akashdeep Singh which took his team in the front for the first time in the match. In the 47th minute Akashdeep Singh’s brilliant dive to put the ball in the goal post helped India take the score card to 3-2. NZ immediately went on the attack on the Indian goal but the high on confidence P R Sreejesh saved for India yet again. India not wanting to lose their dominance on the match ensured good ball possession coupled with maintaining their attack on the opponents. This was complemented with India’s good defence which helped them in keeping the opponents forwards at bay till the end of the game. The good show by all departments by team India helped them maintain their lead, resulting in India winning the semi-final by 3-2 over New Zealand.

 India will take on Australia in the final on 3 August 2014 at 1645 hrs IST and the match will be telecasted live on Ten Action, Ten Sports and Ten HD.