Sultan of Johor Cup: India lose 0-4 to Oz, still lead points table

Australia ended India Colts’ unbeaten run at the Sultan of Johor Cup hockey tournament 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’) scored a hat-trick of goals with Patrik Andrew (29’) opening the deadlock.

Despite the defeat, India continued to lead the points table with nine points while Australia (7 points) is placed third after New Zealand, who are in second place with eight points.

The Australians used speed to their advantage, setting the momentum they needed to create shots on goal. With less than two minutes for the first hooter, the Aussie forward-line forayed into the striking circle and unleashed a fierce reverse hit but was off-target.

They found another PC opportunity, but India goalie Bikramjit Singh made a brave save to end the quarter in a 0-0 stalemate.

Both teams traded PCs before Australia’s Andrew drew the first blood in the 29th minute when he managed a brilliant reverse hit from the left flank.

Buoyed by the 1-0 lead, Australia ended up extending the scoreline to 2-0 in the 33rd minute when Daykin got a fine deflection off a reverse hit. 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 give his team 3-0 lead. To add to India’s woes, Daykin completed his hat-trick in the 53rd minute.