Perth, Apr 11 (PTI) The series already lost, India would look to work on their weak links ahead of the Paris Olympics when they take on the mighty Australia in the fourth men’s hockey Test here on Friday.
The Indians started the tour on a disastrous note losing 1-5 and 2-4 against the hosts but produced a stellar defensive display in the third Test on Wednesday before squandering a goal lead to lose 1-2 and hand the series to Australia.
A visible improvement was witnessed in India’s performance match by match in the series but yet it was not enough to upstage the formidable Kookaburras.
For Indian’s chief coach Craig Fulton , who is taking the series to test out his strategies ahead of the Paris Games, a lot is left to do.
If one day the forward line performed, the next day it under-performed and vice versa for the defence as well.
While India’s defence dished out a gallant effort in the third Test, braving Australia’s constant threats from start to finish, the forward line looked a pale shadow of itself.
The Indians looked out of ideas to build attacks and rather than using the midfield, they were more interested in using long aerial balls which is unlikely to work against any top team.
Going forward, Fulton has a tough task in hand as he needs to utilise all his resources to prevail over strong teams like Australia.
Usually brittle, the Indian defence, however, must get full credit for their brave effort as it calmly weathered a barrage of attacks from Australia before eventually breaking down.
If not for veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, the scoreline would have been different in Wednesday’s match as he produced save after save to deny the Australians and keep India in the hunt.
But it won’t be the same case everyday and India coach Fulton needs to chart out new strategies to outwit stronger opponents if they are to claim for a podium finish in Paris.
The final Test of the series, named as the Perth International Festival of Hockey, will be played here on Saturday. PTI SSC BS BS
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