India beat Aus, ends 12-match winless streak

The Indian men’s hockey team broke its 12-match winless streak against world No. 1 Australia with a 4-3 victory in the third game to stay alive in the five-match Test series at the Mate Stadium, here on Wednesday.This was India’s 13th win over Australia in 65 hockey matches and their first since 2016.It was Mandeep Singh who set up Akashdeep Singh to score the winner for India while other goals were scored by Harmanpreet Singh (12′), Abhishek (47′), and Shamsher Singh (57′). For Australia, Jack Welch (25), Aran Zalewski (32′) and Nathan Ephraums (59′) scored.After emphasizing the strong defensive structure on the eve of the match, India captain Harmanpreet Singh ensured his team followed it with perfection as they impressed with their one-on-one defence to contain the Australian forward line who have shown rampaging form so far in this five-match series.India got off the blocks swiftly, pushing Australia on the backfoot when they converted from a penalty corner in the 12th minute. It was Hardik Singh who gave the breakthrough when he created the PC via an aerial ball into the circle, which was poorly intercepted by the Australian defender leading to a dangerous play foul in the D.Harmanpreet Singh, who has been in great form, was on target with a powerful drag flick that went past Johan Durst at lightning speed. This was Harmanpreet’s fourth goal of the tour.