India suffered a 2-3 loss to New Zealand in a hard-fought game of the five-match series.
Indian women’s hockey team suffered a 2-3 loss to New Zealand in a hard-fought game of the five-match bilateral series in Pukekohe on Wednesday.
The last two matches witnessed Indian eves routed by 4-1 and 8-2, respectively.
The third game of the series surely saw some improvement with structured performance, sturdy attack, strong long drives and cross-field passes but India failed to capitalise on the advantage.
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Deep Grace Ekka scored through a penalty corner in the ninth minute as India took an early lead 1-0. However, the celebration couldn’t last long as Ella Gunson struck an eqaliser for Blacksticks in the 13th minute.
Adding to misery, New Zeland forward Deanna Ritchie netted a brilliant field goal in the 15th minute to guide the hosts to a 2-1 lead by the end of first quarter.
India appeared desperate for an eqauliser in the second quarter as they earned back-to-back penalty corners in the 26th minute. Despite many attempts, no team managed to score a single goal in the second quarter.
New Zealand strengthened their dominance in the third quarter as they scored another goal through Shiloh Gloyn in the 39th minute.
The final quarter saw a rock solid defence from the Indian side that denied any further goal and earned a PC in the dying minutes of the game. Monika found the back of the net in the 59th minute to reduce the grief.
New Zealand are 3-0 up in the series, gearing up for the fourth clash on Friday.
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