Unlike their female counterparts, the Indian national men's hockey team is off to a strong start in the FIH Pro League 2023-24 season in Bhubaneswar. Harmanpreet Singh and Co have registered two wins on the bounce and will be aiming to make it a hat-trick of victories when they take on Australia in their third match on Thursday, February 15 in Bhubaneswar. (More Hockey News)
While they coasted through their first game, starting the season with a 4-1 conquest over Spain, the Indian team had to fight hard and eke out a thrilling shootout win against title holders Netherlands in their second encounter.
Evaluating the team's performance so far, India head coach Craig Fulton said, "It's been a good performance so far from the team, but there's a lot to improve, and we are trying to make the most out of these matches. Playing back-to-back matches against top teams is always tough, but we got a good break to recover and now the focus is on the last two games of the Bhubaneswar leg."
Australia, too, are coming into the match with back-to-back wins in Bhubaneswar. They began their campaign with a 4-3 victory against Spain and then thrashed Ireland 5-0 in their second match.
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Head-To-Head Record
The last time India and Australia took each other on was during the previous edition of the FIH Hockey Pro League in Rourkela. It was India that got the better of the Aussies then, having registered a 5-4 win and a 2-2 (4-3 SO) shootout win in the two-legged tie.
Fulton added, "It is surely going to be a tough match. They are coming off solid back-to-back wins. For us, there were a few learnings from the first two games, and our focus will be to improve and better our performance. We are up for the challenge and look to keep the momentum going."
After the game against Australia, India will face Ireland in their last match of the Bhubaneswar leg on Friday, before moving to Rourkela for the return fixtures.
India Squad
Goalkeepers: Sreejesh Parattu Raveendran, Krishan Bahadur Pathak
Defenders: Jarmanpreet Singh, Sumit, Jugraj Singh, Amit Rohidas, Harmanpreet Singh (C), Varun Kumar, Sanjay, Vishnukant Singh
Midfielders: Hardik Singh (VC), Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Rajkumar Pal, Rabichandra Singh Moirangthem
Forwards: Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek, Akashdeep Singh, Araijeet Singh Hundal.
Live streaming details of the India vs Australia, FIH Pro League 2023-24 hockey match
When will the India vs Australia, FIH Pro League 2023-24 hockey match be played?
The India vs Australia, FIH Pro League 2023-24 hockey match will be played on Thursday, February 15, 2024 at 7:30pm IST at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar.
Where will the India vs Australia, FIH Pro League 2023-24 hockey match be live streamed?
The match will be live streamed on the Jio Cinema app and website in India.
On which TV channel will the game be broadcast?
The game will be telecast live on the Sports18 Khel TV channel in India.
