VR Raghunath's Brace Helps India Draw vs Australia in Hockey Test at Rajnandgaon
VR Raghunath scored both his goals from penalty corners as Rajnandgaon hosted its first international hockey match between India and Australia.
Veteran drag-flicker VR Raghunath scored twice from penalty corners as India were held to a 2-2 draw by world No. 1 Australia in Rajnandgaon on Thursday. India and Australia are playing a three-match series ahead of the World Hockey League finals in Raipur later this month. The second match will be played on Sunday.(Highlights)
Australia, fielding a young side, took the lead in the 9th minute through Dylan Wotherspoon but India hit back with Man of the Match Raghunath on target with short corner conversions in the 28th and 43rd minutes. It was 1-1 at half-time.
India let their guard down in the dying minutes of a pacy fourth quarter with the versatile Chris Ciriello slamming in a penalty corner in the 59th minute. Conceding goals in the closing stages of a match has been a problem with Indian hockey.
India won five penalty corners in a match where they had more possession than the Australians. The Sardar Singh (push)-Manpreet Singh (trap) and Raghunath (finish) combination worked perfectly but Rupinder Pal Singh wasted two penalty corners in the third quarter of the match.
A faulty back pass from Manpreet was all that Australia needed to draw first blood in a match witnessed by 4,000 fans. Tom Craig was quick to pounce on the offer and he brilliantly set up Wotherspoon to score past Indian goalie Harjot Singh, who was preferred over veteran Sreejesh.
But for Raghunath's goals, India's attacks lacked finish and Akashdeep Singh's off-form and Talwinder Singh's half-hearted efforts took the pressure off the Australian defence.
Australia forced three penalty corners in the last three minutes and Ciriello came off the bench to salvage honours for the Australians. His precision and composure at the top of the DEE was a lesson for many. Australia could well have won the match but Matt Dawson's final push missed the Indian goal by a whisker with Harjot virtually left stranded on the goalline.