FIH Pro League: India will look to improve in the double-header against New Zealand, Spain

The team played a tightly contested game in their last game.

India started the FIH Pro League 2022-23 on a positive note winning the opening encounter against New Zealand (4-3) after trailing till the last quarter. In the next game against Spain, India lost a closely fought contest (3-4) winning and losing one encounter each. Mandeep Singh and captain Harmanpreet Singh scored two goals each reviving India in the opening encounter against New Zealand.

In the opening two games, India’s defence was very poor leaking goals in the opening halves making it difficult for a comeback. Surendar Kumar in the first game gave away an easy penalty corner which should have been avoided and Harmanpreet Singh was very aggressive in the second game proving to be costly against Spain. Though Harmanpreet Singh scored two goals he was the primary reason for conceding the first goal against Spain.

The experienced PR Sreejesh was also not at his best conceding easy goals which should have been stopped letting one of the goals go through his legs.

Head-to-Head

India vs Spain

Spain and India have played 67 matches out of which the former has won 25 and the latter won 30 matches with 13 matches ending in a draw.

India vs New Zealand

Both the teams have played 43 matches out of which the former has won 23 and the latter won 15 matches with five matches ending in a draw.

Men in Blue take on New Zealand in the reverse fixtures first on November 4th, 2022 and then after a day’s gap will play Spain on the 6th.

The Indian team in the next games should look to create more chances and convert them. In the opening fixtures, the chances created were fewer but the ball possession was quite high which should have resulted in good chances. Also, India needs to attack from the start rather than defend and then attack. In both games India was trailing for most parts so going into the reverse leg India should look to correct these mistakes.

Simon Child made a comeback to the New Zealand team and was a star during the Hockey India League held before in India. The Indian defence needs to be wary of him and try to stop him.

With the World Cup not far away these matches will help India understand their pros and cons and perform better.

Streaming

The live telecast of both the FIH Pro League will be available on the Star Sports Network. The live stream of the fixture can be viewed on Disney+Hotstar and JioTV. Kick-off is at 7:10 PM at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.