19 July :- India won the first match of the three-match series against New Zealand at the Sports Authority of India ground in Bangalore. India have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series by defeating New Zealand by a margin of 4-2. In the match, Rupinderpal Singh (2nd, 34th minute), Mandeep Singh (15th minute) and Harmanpreet Singh (38th minute) scored the goals. Styphan Janees scored the goal for New Zealand in the 26th and 55th minute.
The Indian Men's Team has a successful day on the turf as they defeat New Zealand by a 2-goal margin in the opening game of the three-match series. Here is the result of this game that was played in Bengaluru on 19th July.#IndiaKaGame pic.twitter.com/kiEyuamiuj
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) July 19, 2018
India, who are playing at home, started aggressively in the match. Getting the penalty corner in the first few minutes, India took the lead in the second minute. Rupinder Pal, who went out of the team after the injury to Goldcott Commonwealth Games, came back to power and gave India a lead. After this, New Zealand had an opportunity to equalize in the match in the 7th minute, but this opportunity was wasted due to the defense of the goalkeeper Christian Bahadur Pathak.
The Indian Men's Hockey Team earned an impressive 4-2 victory over New Zealand in their opening encounter of the three-match series on 19th July 2018. Here are some moments from the match. #IndiaKaGame
ALBUM: https://t.co/Vn2GVMIEGs pic.twitter.com/TXsbLAqili
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) July 19, 2018
Mandeep Singh gave the ball a good 2-0 lead by showing Man of the match to Manipreet Singh in the 15th minute. In the second session, New Zealand players emphasized on prevention rather than attack. Ultimately, Stephan Jones scored a perfect field goal in the 26th minute to reduce India’s lead 2-1. But after the interval S. V. On Sunrisers, Rupinder Pal once again scored a penalty corner for India. This goal brought India 3-1 lead in the match.
Harmanpreet Singh then added the lead to India in the 38th minute by 4-1. In the last session, New Zealand players attacked and tried to match the Indian side, but they did not get the ball in front of the Indian defense. Finally, Stephen Janice scored another goal in the 55th minute to score another goal for Minatota, but by then India had dominated the match. The second match in this series is going to be held at 4 pm on 21 July.