The Indian men's hockey team's preparations for the Paris Olympic Games continues with a crucial five-match Test series in Australia, starting from April 6, Saturday. Beating the Australians at home is no easy task but India's head coach, Craig Fulton will hope that his team will make it tougher for the host nation by focusing on their strengths as well as show improvements in certain areas.
When are the matches?
The matches are scheduled on: April 6, 7 (at 2 pm IST), 10, 12 (3 pm IST) and 13 (2 pm IST).
All the matches will be played at the Perth Hockey Stadium.
India squad
Fulton has picked a big squad for the Australia tour, indicating that a few players still have a chance to impress and make it to the Olympic Games squad. Hopefully, youngsters like Mohammed Raheel, Araijeet Singh Hundal, Boby Singh Dhami, Vishnukant Singh will make their mark against one of the toughest teams in world hockey and give a few selection headaches to their coach.
Goalkeepers: Krishan Bahadur Pathak, PR Sreejesh, Suraj Karkera.
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh (C), Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rohidas, Jugraj Singh, Sanjay, Sumit, Amir Ali.
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh (VC), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Shamsher Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Vishnukant Singh.
Forwards: Akashdeep Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Abhishek, Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mohammed Raheel Mouseen, Boby Singh Dhami, Araijeet Singh Hundal.
The big picture
Over the years, India's matches against Australia have produced plenty of goals. More recently, they both met at the Pro League matches in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela. The first match was a wild ride, with Australia winning it 6-4 after being down 2-4. The next one finished 2-2 with the visitors winning the penalty shootout.
There's only one way Australia play their hockey - ultra attacking. It only takes two or three moves for their attacking transitions and before their opponents fall back, Australia would've beaten the goalkeeper. There will be no changes to their style in the upcoming games, which will make it a fascinating watch, considering Fulton's preference for a more controlled and defensive approach.
There's no doubt India's defence has made a marked improvement since Fulton took charge, but to put out a controlled defensive performance over five matches against the Australians will take some doing. India are unlikely to win all games, but the important aspect is ensuring their opponents don't run away with the matches by scoring a bunch early on. Fulton often speaks about solidifying India's defensive structure and there's no better opponent than Australia to test them ahead of a big tournament like the Olympics, especially since the two teams will meet in Paris as well.
The last time India went to Australia to play a five-match series, just before the home World Cup, they lost the series 4-1, conceded 25 goals and scored 17. But that was Reid's India. This time under Fulton, they will want to improve in at least two of three aspects - the final results and goals conceded.
Counter-attacking is another facet of Fulton's gameplan. Gone are those days where India relentlessly ran the length of the pitch trying to create chances. Fulton wants control and effectiveness in terms of keeping the ball and scoring goals. India might not create plenty of chances - therefore they will have to be effective in front of goal. This is where the likes of Akashdeep, Sukhjeet, Mandeep, Abhishek and all are crucial. Fulton has named as many as 10 forwards in the squad, all of them vying for a spot in the team for the Olympics. They need to be on top of their game to cause damage of limited chances and pull positive results against a tough opponent.
In terms of scoring, Harmanpreet's drag-flicks are of course key but India will hope that there's a solid second drag--flicker who can contribute with goals. In the absence of Varun Kumar, Jugraj Singh has to step up and seal his spot for the Olympics. All top international teams have a second drag-flicker in the mix, contributing goals. Even at Tokyo, India had Rupinder Pal Singh along with Harmanpreet. If Jugraj is able to prove himself in converting penalty corners, India will have a big advantage going into the Olympics.
Head-to-head
Clearly, Australia are ahead. Since 2013, both teams have faced each other 43 times with Australia winning 28 times while India tasted victory in eight. There were seven draws between both teams.
What they said:
Fulton: "This series serves as a litmus test for our team's preparedness ahead of the Paris Olympics. We aim to fine-tune our strategies and identify areas for improvement to ensure we are in peak form for the mega event." (via Hockey India).
Aran Zalewski of Australia, on playing his 250th game: "I think the one thing I am really proud of is the belief that you have to have in yourself that you can do it and that you belong here on this stage, so to play 250 games, you know hopefully I have taught that to myself."
All the matches of the India tour of Australia will be broadcast on Sports18- 3 and Sports18- 1 HD. The matches will also be live-streamed on Jio Cinema.