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Akashdeep Singh's hat-trick didn't do the trick for the Indian men's hockey team as they went down 4-5 in the first high-scoring Test match of the five-match series after conceding two last-minute goals here on Saturday.
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Akashdeep Singh (10th, 27th, and 59th minutes) scored three goals while captain Harmanpreet Singh (31st minute) converted a penalty corner. Lachlan Sharp (4'), Nathan Ephraums (20'), Tom Craig (40') and Blake Govers (56', 60') scored for Australia.
Govers scored two goals from the penalty corner at the end of the match. The second match of the series will be played on Sunday. Australia made a bright start and took the lead in the fifth minute when Sharp fired past Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh at the very first attempt. The Indian team quickly responded to this with Amit Rohidas making a brilliant move from the left but the ball was stopped inside the circle by the Australian defense.
Akashdeep then equalized for the Indian men's hockey team in the 11th minute when Hardik Singh created a brilliant chance for him. Six minutes into the second quarter, Australia regained their lead thanks to some poor Indian defence. The Indian defenders failed to intercept a cross and Ifroms deftly deflected it into the net. Akashdeep again came to India's rescue and leveled the score at 2-2 with a sharp reverse hit in the 27th minute.
Australia got a penalty corner just before halftime. But India's second goalkeeper Krishan Bahadur Pathak was alert enough to avoid danger. A minute after the change of ends, Harmanpreet scored from a penalty corner to put India ahead for the first time in the match. The Indians earned successive penalty corners but the team wasted both the chances. In the 41st minute of the match, Australia earned another penalty corner. Craig scored on the rebound while Sreejesh saved the first drag flick.
The home team continued to dominate and earned a few penalty corners but could not convert them. India looked sloppy in the last five minutes of the match. Germanpreet Singh got an unnecessary green card, leaving the team one player short. Australia made full use of the opportunity and earned another penalty corner, which Govers fired home with a powerful flick. But Akashdeep scored a goal a minute before the whistle to make the score equal to 4-4. But poor defending inside their own circle cost the Indians dearly as Australia earned two more penalty corners. In the second attempt, Gowers scored to give his team a 1-0 lead in the series.