India vs Australia 1st Hockey Test at Rajnandgaon Highlights: Raghunath's Brace Denies Aussies Win
VR Ragunath scored his 124th and 125th goals in the first hockey Test between India and Australia in Rajnandgaon.
India's preparation for the Rio Olympics next year started today with a 2-2 draw against world No. 1 Australia in Rajnandgaon. Catch the highlights here (All Times in IST):
16:36 The second match will be played on Sunday afternoon. India will take a lot of confidence by not losing the first match. Australia will have a lot of thinking to do. They needed Chris Ciriello's experience to split honours. The final quarter was just fascinating.
16:33 That's full time. The match ends 2-2. India survived some anxious moments in the last five minutes.
16:31 Matt Dawson misses by a whisker. India lucky.
16:30 India concede another penalty corner in the last minute of the match. Wasted, but Aussies have another one. What a finish.
16:29 GOAL! And Australia equalise. Superb conversion by Chris Ciriello.
16:27 Australia win their first penalty corner with two minutes left of the match.
16:25 Four minutes to go and Australia putting a lot of pressure.
16:23 Six minutes left for play and Australia looking for their second goal.
16:20 India win another penalty corner but once again Rupinder is slow to react and wastes the chance.
16:19 Akashdeep wins India's fourth penalty corner in the 5th minute of fourth quarter. This time Rupinderpal pushes straight to goalie.
16:18 Glenn Simpson was totally unmarked at the far post. This can prove to be dangerous for India.
16:16 Australia come close to scoring their second goal in the third minute of final quarter. Indian defence caught napping again. This has been an eternal problem.
16:14 India on the offensive in fourth quarter. But the Aussies look to hit back
16:12 India lead 2-1 at the end of the third quarter. Raghunath has been brilliant so far.
16:10 It was the same combination with Sardar pushing the ball, Manpreet trapping and Raghunath slotting the ball in the back of the net. His experience in scoring from setpieces is showing clearly.
16:09 GOAL! Raghunath Scores again. India take 2-1 lead. It's Raghunath's 125th goal.
16:08 India win their third penalty corner with four minutes to go for the end of third quarter
16:05 India look the better side with 61 per cent possesion in the third quarter. But the strikers have looked goal shy.
16:02 Akashdeep comes close to scoring in the 8th minute of third quarter. But he has been off form today.
16:01 India playing a lot of long passes into the Australia Dee. But the final touch is missing.
15:56 India make a pacy start in the third quarter.
15:46 At half-time, it's a 10 minute break. Expect some pacy action after the breather.
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15:45 It's 1-1 at the end of the second quarter. India have made a comeback of sorts after Raghunath's goal.
15:44 It's the veteran defender-cum-drag flicker's 124th goal. Raghunath was cool and composed this time after Sardar Singh injected the push. Good effort.
15:42 GOAL! Raghunath equalises with a red hot straight push. It's 1-1
15:41 Penalty corner for India with three minutes to go in the second quarter.
15:38 Australia are desperately looking for the second goal. India have hardly attacked in the second quarter.
15:34 Great save by Harjot prevents a second Australian goal in the seventh minute of second quarter. Indian defence looking weak at times.
15:28 Dylan Wotherspoon's fourth international goal separates the teams. Australia had better possession than the Indians.
15:27 Akashdeep Singh thwarted brilliantly with seconds remaining in the first quarter. India haven't done much in the first quarter. Australia have played the waiting game and capitalised on the first half-chance they got thanks to that horrible back pass from Manpreet.
15:24 India waste their first penalty corner as Raghunath pushes far and wide. Bad effort.
15:23 Penalty corner for India in the 12th minute.
15:20 Dylan Wotherspoon scored for Australia. This was the first mistake the Indians did and the Aussies took the half-chance.
15:18 GOAL! Australia take the lead in the 9th minute due to a bad back pass by Manpreet.
15:15 The first six minutes of the first quarter has been a cat-and-mouse affair. No clear chances for either team.
15:13 India and Australia played in June in the Hockey World League semis. They thrashed India 6-2.
15:11 Australia are testing young players ahead of the Olympics. India have hung on to their core team after winning a close series in New Zealand in October.
15:10 Harjot Singh to start in goal ahead of Sreejesh. This should be a good outing for Harjot. Let's see how he handles the drag flicks
15:03 Raipur has hosted IPL matches but Chattisgarh wants to improve its presence in India's sporting map. Hockey and archery are the way forward. Teams walk in and it's a sunny afternoon in Rajnandgaon.
15:02 Four thousand fans packed into the stadium. This is a new sporting high for Chattisgarh.
Preview:
With an eye on a podium finish in Rio Olympics next year, Hockey India have done almost everything right so far. From appointing the right support staff to warm-up games against top teams will help chief coach Roelant Oltmans iron out the edges. The series against Australia will help identify the shortcomings for sure.
India will hope for a winning start at the recently inaugurated Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel International Stadium but Dutchman Oltmans knows the Aussies will be tough nuts.
"We have had a couple of good training sessions and the boys are looking forward to take on Australia. They are a formidable team and we are confident of putting on a good show in front of the home crowd," said Oltmans.(PR Sreejesh Receives Kerala Sports Award)
Both teams have to guard against injuries to key players. India were dealt a body blow when striker Lalit Upadhyay was injured during the Bangalore camp. He suffered a hairline fracture and was replaced by Mohammed Amir.
Besides Lalit, another striker Nikkin Thimmaiah was also dropped from the squad because of a shoulder injury which he sustained during the last tour to New Zealand.
Top Teams for Hockey League Finals
Top eight teams of the world -- Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain, Argentina, India and Canada will be competing in the Hockey World League Finals.
India have been clubbed in a tough Pool B alongside Germany, The Netherlands and Argentina, while Pool A consists of Australia, Belgium, Great Britain and Canada.
"We are making progress day by day and we have got a mix of young and experienced players in the side to take on top teams like Australia, Germany and The Netherlands," Oltmans said.
"I understand in India everyone believes in the final outcome but I believe in the process. The most important thing is if our process is right results will automatically come," the top coach added.