India vs New Zealand Highlights, Sultan of Johor Cup 2024

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The Indian junior men’s hockey team face New Zealand in their final round-robin match at the Sultan of Johor Cup 2024. India are ranked at the top of the points standings, with one match to go while New Zealand are close second. Both teams are separated by just one point, with one game to go. The top-two ranked teams at the end of the round-robin stage will directly qualify for the final.

However, Australia and Great Britain are not far behind either. While the Kookaburras are at the third spot with seven points, Great Britain are at fourth with the same number of points. Australia face the bottom-placed Malaysia while Great Britain play Japan in their final round-robin match.

A win for both teams could take them to 10 points each and if India vs New Zealand match ends in draw, then these two sides could well make the final, given other conditions are met.

India lose to Australia, end winning run

Australia ended India junior men’s hockey team’s unbeaten streak at the Sultan of Johor Cup 2024 with a resounding 4-0 win here on Wednesday. While India’s forward line struggled to break the Australian defence, Daykin Stanger (33′, 39′, 53′) stood tall in Australian attack as he scored a hat-trick of goals while Patrik Andrew (29′) scored the opening goal. 

Despite the loss, the Indian junior men’s hockey team continue to lead the points table with nine points while Australia are placed third after New Zealand in second place. With three wins in their kitty and one more match left in the round robin league, India look favourites for a place in the final.

Sultan of Johor Cup 2024 Points Table

Table toppers India faced a stiff challenge from the get-go. Though the Indian junior men’s hockey team made a promising start, Australia resorted to high press early in the game to control the ball possession. The Australians used speed to their advantage, set the momentum they needed to create shots on goal.

With less than two minutes for the first hooter, the Aussie forwardline forayed into the striking circle and unleashed a fierce reverse hit but was off-target. 

They found another opportunity to score when they earned a PC with just nine seconds on the clock for the first hooter. But India goalie Bikramjit Singh made a brave save to end the quarter in a 0-0 stalemate.

Inspired by their Coach legendary goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, Ali Khan made a grand save off a penalty stroke which India conceded in the 18th minute. Quick on the counter attack, India earned a PC but the drag-flick was deflected by Aussie defence.

In the following minutes, both teams traded PCs before Australia’s Patrick Andrew drew the first blood in the 29th minute when he managed a brilliant reverse hit from the left flank. The 1-0 lead left India stunned. 

With seconds left on the clock for the half-time break, India found a great opportunity to equalise through a PC but Aussie goalkeeper managed to pad the ball to safety.

Also Read: Australia vs India Highlights, Sultan of Johor Cup 2024

Buoyed by the 1-0 lead, Australia ended up extending the scoreline to 2-0 in the 33rd minute when Daykin Stanger got a fine deflection off a reverse hit. This was a real setback for India who had to come up with an improvised attack to narrow the lead. 

In the meantime, Australia managed to pump a third goal into the net when Daykin picked up a well-constructed attack, hoodwinked the Indian defence to take a 3-0 lead.

Not a good day for 🇮🇳 Indian #hockey as the U21 team goes down against 🇦🇺 Australia in their penultimate pool stage match at the Sultan of Johor Cup 2024. 😢The heavy defeat also ends India's run of 3️⃣ consecutive wins in the tournament.#SOJC2024 pic.twitter.com/zCzQ99JtEE

— Khel Now (@KhelNow) October 23, 2024

India desperately searched for an opening but the Australian defence was resolute and kept India’s hunt for that elusive goal alive through the fourth quarter. 

Special mention to the Aussie goalie Hunter Banyard who was outstanding through the game, making some incredible saves to keep Indian strikers at bay.  In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, he made a diving save to stop Dilraj’s fine shot on goal. 

To add to India’s woes, Daykin scored a hat-trick in the 53rd minute. With the score reading 4-0 and only seven minutes of play left, India looked for a consolation goal but couldn’t convert one.

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