India Wins FIH Pro League Penalties, Defeats Australia in Second Leg

India defeated Australia for the second time in three days as the home team won the penalty shootout in the FIH Pro League second leg match on Wednesday. During the regulation time, both teams were tied at 2-2.

In the shootout, P.R Sreejesh played a vital role and made some fantastic saves that helped India to notch up their fourth consecutive win at the Birsa Munda Stadium.

India’s Vivek Sagar Prasad (2nd minute) and Sukhjeet Singh (47th) scored a goal, while Nathan Ephraums (37th and 52nd) struck twice for Australia during the regulation time. In the shootout, captain Harmanpreet Singh, Sukhjeet, and Dilpreet Singh scored for India, ending their home campaign in style.

India had won both matches against world champions Germany 3-2 and 6-3 and had beaten world number four Australia 5-4 in the first leg match on Sunday.

India started strong as they earned a penalty corner in the second minute. Australian keeper Johan Durst saved captain Harmanpreet’s powerful drag-flick but the rebound was brilliantly picked up by Vivek Sagar Prasad, scoring a successful goal from the top of the circle. This was Vivek Sagar Prasad’s 100th match for India.

India created a couple of more opportunities with penalty corners in the following minutes of the first quarter but could not make much of them.

After a goal-less second quarter, Nathan Ephraums scored for Australia in the 37th minute off a penalty stroke. It took India ten more minutes to regain the lead when Sukhjeet converted a field goal in the 47th minute. In the 52nd minute, an unintended foul by an Indian defender gave away a crucial penalty corner to Australia which was cleverly executed. Anand Gupte faked a drag-flick, passed the ball to Tim Howard, and put the ball between the posts, leveling the scores at 2-2.

At the end of regulation time, both teams went into a tense shootout.

P.R Sreejesh once again proved his worth as he not only made some fine saves but also took a crucial referral, saving the day for India and even winning the extra point for his team.

India will play their next match in May when they travel to Europe to take on Belgium, Great Britain, Netherlands, and Argentina in the FIH Pro League matches.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *