Two of the most spectacular field hockey teams in the form of India and Australia, will lock horns in Ipoh, Malaysia. It sure should be a grueling encounter. While Australia is the only team to remain undefeated heading into the grand finale, India have crossed many hurdles to get to this stage. The Men In Blue opened their campaign against the spirited Japanese. But, spirit wasn’t enough on a night where the Indians displayed a class show of counter attacks and crunch defending. They eventually won 2-1, with Harmanpreet and the skipper Sardar Singh scoring in the game. Next up, were the “Kookaburras”. Unfortunately, India couldn’t live up to its expectations from the previous match, as they were trumped 5-1 by Mark Knowles’ men. Rupinder Pal, the penalty corner convert specialist, was the only shining spot in the rampage. However, things quickly lightened up, when India beat Canada 3-1 in their next encounter, with Harmanpreet and Talwinder guiding them home. The rivalry between India and Pakistan, that is so prominent in sports, carried on in this tournament as well. To everyone’s delight, India ran out winners 5-1. Talwinder and Rupinder continued their sublime form in this tournament, by injecting pace and penalty corners, at vital points of time. But as they have been criticized earlier for their inconsistency, the Indians learnt nothing from their mistakes earlier on. Clinical finishing was nowhere near in India’s attacking front, as they lost to New Zealand 2-1. Rusell Kane and Nick Wilson scored for the Kiwis, as Mandeep Singh snatched a consolation goal. It was all up to the final group stage encounter against Malaysia, as the situation was nothing less than a “make-or-break”. But they made it, and with what swagger! Roelant Oltmans’ boys went out there and thrashed the hosts resoundingly, with the scoreline reading 6-1 at full time. They had cemented their place in the final. As far as Australia’s campaign is concerned, they started off with an emphatic victory against India. They did not lose their momentum, as they went on to notch up victories against Malaysia and New Zealand, with scores of 5-1 and 1-0 respectively. In each game, they put up class attacking displays with the help of Jamie Dwyer and Jacob Whetton. As a result, they were the team with the most shots on target and the only team to have not been beaten so far. The unbeaten record kept going as they yet again trounced Japan and Canada in quick succession. The round-robin stage is over, and Australia head into this final as favourites. But the past is past, and India must maintain their confidence. Talwinder, Rupinder and Harmanpreet, ably aided by their captain Sardar Singh, hold the key for the Blues, while Jamie Dwyer, Jacob Whetton, Flynn Oglivie and their top goals scorer, Blake Govers, will be central for the Aussies. Much is at stake at the scintillating Azlan Shah Stadium in Ipoh, and both teams will surely fight it out on the field. With Sardar’s resilience and Mark Knowles’ experience, it is only fitting that these quality sides play today’s final, and lead their respective armies to glory. May the best team emerge victorious. author
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