Indian hockey team eyes for win in third game against Australia

India's last-ditch attempt to salvage the test series.

India and Australia will clash for the third time in a five-match test series on 30th November in Australia. So far the Men in Blue have not been able to do much in the series. They are trailing 0-2 against the Kookaburras. The first match saw the Indians going down 5-4 in a match that was closely competitive. In the second game, however, India was beaten by a 3-goal margin (7-4).

So Harmanpreet Singh and his men have their work cut out for them tomorrow. The Indian team will have to come up with a spectacular performance if they hope to level up the series. As a result, we can expect an exhilarating showdown between the two sides at Mate stadium in Adelaide.

Kick-off: 13:30 IST

Players to watch

Australia

Blake Govers

Forward Blake Gowers has been a constant needle in the flesh for the Indians. The hat trick hero of the last match is in superb form. Govers never seem to be out of touch and always deliver for Australia and also scored two crucial goals in the first match in the opener against India. Blake always finds the right positions to take and is pinpoint accurate with his finishing. On top of that his ability to convert penalty corners is also a difference-maker for his side.

India

Harmanpreet Singh

Harmanpreet Singh's presence is mercurial for the squad. Not only is he a top-class defender but he is also India's go-to option for penalty corners. His fast flicks are a nightmare for the keepers to handle. Besides that his ability to lead and motivate the team as a captain is another plus point. He can single-handedly change the complexion of the game in any situation.

Indian Squad

Harmanpreet Singh (c), Amit Rohidas (v/c), Krishan Bahadur Pathak, Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran, Jarmanpreet Singh, Surender Kumar, Jugraj Singh, Mandeep Mor, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Varun Kumar, Sumit, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Shamsher Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Rajkumar Pal, Mohd Raheel Mouseen, Akashdeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Abhishek, Dilpreet Singh, Sukhjeet Singh.

Australian Squad

Jacob Anderson, Daniel Beale, Josh Beltz, Andrew Charter, James Collins, Tom Craig, Matthew Dawson, Johan Durst, Nathan Ephraums, Blake Govers, Jake Harvie, Jeremy Hayward, Tim Howard, Dylan Martin, Eddie Ockenden, Flynn Ogilvie, Ben Rennie, Lachlan Sharp, Jack Welch, Jake Whetton, Tom Wickham, Ky Willott, Aran Zalewski.

Prediction

As things stand now for now it is no secret that things are leaning towards Australia. They have a home-ground advantage and have proved to be the better team so far. Coach Colin Batch has done fantastic work with his team since his appointment in 2016. The team has produced consistent results in most tournaments.

On the other end, we have Graham Reid who is an Australian himself and knows the opposition too well. He will definitely look to exploit their weakness and work on their defensive tactics. He is aware of the quality on his side and knows what he has to do to get the job done. So we can expect a shake-up in the starting line-up. Or perhaps a new strategy to conquer the Australian attack. Even then things do look grim for Graham's boys and the Indian lads will be definite underdogs tomorrow.

Prediction: Australia 3- 2 India