Thanks for tuning into Sportstar’s live coverage of the men’s hockey Group B match between India and Canada. This was Nihit Sachdeva taking you through the action as it unfolded at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash centre.
| INDIA | 8 |
| CANADA | 0 |
India will face Wales in its final group B match at 6:30 PM IST on Thursday.
Summary: It was a complete performance from Manpreet Singh’s men. They kept the Canadian defense under constant pressure and created plenty of chances. Harmanpreet and Akashdeep topped the score sheet with two goals apiece while Gurjant, Mandeep, Amit and Lalit also contributed to the final scoreline. Indians not only kept the scoresheet clean but the discipline record too. After multiple suspensions in previous game against England, no Indian player was given even a green card today. India is tied with England with seven points after three matches but tops the group courtesy of a superior goal difference.
FOURTH QUARTER
60’ Final whistle. Full time!
60’ GOALLLL!!!!!!! Akashdeep with the easiest of tap-ins puts India 8-0 ahead. Canadian defense simply froze as Abhishek made the move from the right and found Akashdeep at the far post.
59’ Canada gets its third PC of the match as Bains manages to find an Indian foot. Dhillon’s shot is deemed dangerous and Canada does not get to retake the PC. Loses its referral in order to contest the decision.
58’ GOAL!!!!! Mandeep gets his name on the scoresheet with a reverse stick shot from the left of the D, beating McTavish to find the bottom right corner.
57’ India almost gets a seventh goal courtesy of a ferocious counter attack. McTavish blocks the effort.
56’GOAL!!!!!! Harmanpreet scores from the Penalty Corner. Nilakanta earned the PC by finding Panesar’s foot inside the D. Harmanpreet went for the top right corner and found it too. Second goal of the match and sixth of the tournament for the Indian vice-captain.
55’ Manpreet takes the ball deep on the right flank, looks to make his way into the D but the two Canadian defenders block him successfully.
53’ Jarmanpreet blocks Pereira’s drag flick at the right post.
53’ Penalty Corner awarded to Canada after it uses the referral successfully. Indian goalkeeper Pathak guilty of dangerous play as he looked to clear the ball.
51’ Canada gets the possession and looks to construct something from the back. Nothing fruitful.
49’ Penalty Corner for India as Amit Rohidas enter the D from the right, provides the pass to Mandeep who fails to get the required deflection. McTavish scrambles to somehow stop the ball from crossing the line. Harmanpreet takes the PC, directs his drag flick towards Mandeep whose deflection at the near post gets saved. Mandeep smacks the rebound but McTavish saves that too. Top stuff from the Canadian goalie.
47’ A barrage of attacks from the Indians and McTavish does spectacularly well to block everything. Jarmanpreet’s delicate touch set Mandeep free on the right flank who entered the D from the right and provided the pass to Nilakanta. McTavish blocks the effort.
46’ Final quarter starts. Manpreet provides aerial pass to Jarmanpreet on the right flank but the Indian defender fails to control the ball. However, umpires rules encroachment as the Canadian player was too close to Jarmanpreet when he was receiving the pass.
THIRD QUARTER
45’ India looks for one final attack in the third quarter but McTavish manages to block the shot.
43’ Mandeep looks for a possible circle penetration but gets blocked. India on the charge. Canada scrambling to defend anything and everything.
41’ Akashdeep almost gets his second goal. Abhishek steals ball inside the Canadian half, charges towards the goal, finds Akashdeep on the left side of the circle. Akashdeep takes one touch to many which gives McTavish time to settle and save the effort directed towards his near post. Akashdeep gets the rebound and passes the ball to Abhishek at the far post but umpire calls it dangerous play as the ball was a bit too high.
38’ Abhishek goes for the tomahawk and just misses the near post. India is clearly not satisfied with five goals.
38’ GOALLLLL!!!!!! Vivek Sagar Prasad opens up the Canadian defense from the right, finds Manpreet who sets up the shot for Akashdeep. This time, Akashdeep puts the ball in the back of the goal. Five-star performance from the men in blue.
37’ Manpreet goes for the aerial pass from the middle of the pitch to find Mandeep inside the circle but the Indian forward is unable to stop the ball as it goes out.
35’ Hardik makes an excellent run through the middle and finds Shamsher on the left edge of the Canadian D. Shamsher puts the ball in but Roopkanwar Dhillon clears it away.
33’ Matthew Sarmento makes a circle penetration but before he can take the shot, the Indian defender clears the ball away. Better play from Canada in the second half.
33’ Amit Rohidas receives the aerial pass in the midfield and heads towards the circle but gets stopped in his tracks on the edge of the D.
31’ Third quarter begins. Canada loses possession inside 20 seconds but gets the ball back quickly. A possible PC was on the cards but the Indian defense did well to clear the ball away after circle penetration from the men in red.
Half-time summary: India has been all over Canada in the first 30 minutes. A 4-0 lead is enough to tell that but in case you still want to know how strong the men in blue have been, here is a stat - India has made 23 circle penetrations while Canada has made just two. Another positive for India has been the discipline. Clean and clinical hockey from Manpreet Singh’s men.
SECOND QUARTER
30’ Final minute of the first half. Both teams visibly tired and wait for the final whistle. Here it comes. HALF-TIME. IND 4-0 CAN
28’ First Penalty Corner for Canada but it is a tame attempt from Pereira. Easily saved by Sreejesh.
27’ GOALLLLL!!!!!! Gurjant with a diving goal. Hardik entered the D from the left and passed it to Gurjant in the center who deflected it passed McTavish to find the bottom right corner. India leads 4-0.
27’ Penalty Corner for India. Sixth of the match. Nothing clinical this time though as Jugraj’s shot is saved by McTavish.
26’ Vivek Sagar Prasad does well to turn the defense into attack from deep inside the Indian half. Chance for India as Vivek looks for options after seeing McTavish rush towards him. No issues for Canada as McTavish clears away any possible danger.
24’ Abhishek gets all the time in the world to keep the ball, march towards the top of the circle and take a shot. McTavish saves it but this is bizarre. No Canadian defender pressed Abhishek.
23’ Indian captain Manpreet puts in a solo effort to keep possession on the edge of the D, enters and takes a shot at the far post. Misses it by quite some distance.
22’ Problems for Canada. The defensive structure is in shambles and there is no scope of an attack either.
20’ GOALLLLL!!!!!!!! Lalit Upadhyay on the rebound after a brilliant save from Canadian goalie McTavish. Harmanpreet was asked to retake the PC after his initial effort was blocked by the rusher illegally. On the retake, Harmanpreet, instead of taking the shot himself, gave a brilliant back door pass to Varun Kumar whose effort was saved by McTavish but Lalit came up with a clean finish on the rebound to put India 3-0 ahead. Second goal at CWG 2022 for Lalit.
19’ Penalty Corner for India as Panesar fouls Akashdeep on the edge of the D after Varun Kumar set him up.
18’ India fails to take the long corner from the right position and the umpire call for a change in possession as a result.
17’ Gurjant comes up with a brilliant interception inside the Canadian half and then heads towards the D. Excellent defending from Canada to stop the Indian forward.
16’ Second quarter begins and straight away, a green card is shown to Canada’s Floris Van Son for indiscipline. Two-minute suspension.
FIRST QUARTER
15’ Shamsher takes the ball inside the Canadian D from the left, looks for options but few moments later, a foul is given against India. End of first quarter.
14’ Canada is still waiting for its first opportunity to attack. Zero circle penetrations so far from the men in red.
12’ Akashdeep had the chance to make it 3-0 for India as the Canadian defence lost possession inside its own D. However, the Indian midfielder could not control the ball.
10’ GOAL!!!!!!!! Amit Rohidas makes it 2-0. Varun Kumar, who had a horrible last game, redeems himself by setting the move for Amit who then enters the D from the left with blistering pace and smashes the ball in.
9’ Lalit Upadhyay gets inside the D from the right with sharp manoeuvre, provides the pass for Akashdeep who takes the chance with his first touch but sends it wide.
7’ GOALLLLL!!!!!!! Harmanpreet does not miss this time. An excellent drag flick to find the gap between the goalkeeper and the defender on the right post. Fifth goal of the tournament for the Indian vice-captain.
7’ Mandeep earns a PC quite comfortably as he enters the D from the right and finds Bird’s foot.
5’ First Penalty Corner of the game for India. Harmanpreet’s drag flick gets blocked by the rusher and another PC is awarded but India does not manage to make anything out of it as Balraj Panesar successfully defends Harmanpreet’s drag flick headed towards the bottom right corner.
4’ Good skills by Gurjant to take the ball inside the Canadian D from the left and puts it in for Nilakanta who fails to control and a foul is given against him for stick check.
3’ Manpreet does well to keep possession after receiving the pass on the edge of the D and puts it inside for Lalit but the forward does not manage to stop the ball as it rolls out.
2’ Akashdeep takes the ball forward from the left and gives it to Manpreet on the edge of the D but the Indian captain gets blocked by the Canadian defender.
1’ Canada loses possession in its own half.
GAME TIME!!!
6:29 PM: The two teams step onto the turf. First up, the Indian players and then the Canadians.
6:20 PM: Just 10 minutes to go. Will it be a dominating victory for India or will Canada cause an upset? Live action soon.
6:10 PM: ICYMI, Indian women’s team booked a spot in the semifinals today. That too by beating Canada in a virtual quarterfinal. Check the highlights here.
6 PM: Head-to-head record
India and Canada have faced each other 32 times. While India has won 26 times, Canada has managed to emerge victorious only on four occasions. Two matches finished as draw.
5:50 PM:Squads:
INDIA
Forwards: Abhishek, Lalit Upadhyay, Shamsher, Gurjant, Mandeep
Midfielders: Manpreet, Hardik, Akashdeep, Nilakanta, Vivek Sagar
Defenders: Surender, Harmanpreet, Varun, Amit Rohidas, Jarmanpreet, Jugraj
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan Pathak
CANADA
Forwards: Devohn Noronha Teixeira, Gurpreet Singh, Brendan Guraliuk, Gavin Bains, Find Boothroyd, Matthew Sarmento
Midfielders: Floris Van Son, Oliver Scholfield, Keegan Pereira, Harbir Sidhu
Defenders: Roopkanwar Dhillon, Alexander Bird, Balraj Panesar, Manveer Jhamat, John Smythe, Taylor Curran
Goalkeepers: Tristan Burgoyne, Ethan McTavish
5:40 PM: A win against Canada today will almost guarantee Manpreet Singh-led Indian team a place in the semifinals.
PREVIEW
The Indian men’s hockey team would look to put up a disciplined performance and avoid unnecessary cards in its bid to return to winning ways against Canada at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Wednesday.
After a thumping 11-0 win over Ghana in their opener, India squandered a three-goal advantage and was held 4-4 by host England in its second pool B match.
The Indians started brilliantly and dominated the first two quarters to enjoy a comfortable 3-0 lead at half time. But the Englishmen came out hard in the final two quarters to stun the Indians.
England was also helped by three cards to India’s Varun Kumar twice, one for five minutes in the first half and for 10 minutes in the second half, besides a 10-minute suspension for Gurjant Singh in the final quarter for dangerous play.
England made full use of those lapses to put pressure on the Indian defense and it eventually wilted under pressure to share the spoils.
India vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh conceded that they need to be more disciplined going forward.
“Our resounding win against Ghana was the perfect way to start our Commonwealth Games campaign. But we are a little bit disappointed about our performance against England.
“There are several takeaways from that match for us particularly when it comes to discipline and not letting our guard down when we have a good lead on board,” he said.
The Indians are placed second in the pool with four points from a win and a draw, while England is in the lead with seven points from three games.
A win against Canada would consolidate India’s position in the group and take it one step closer towards a semifinal spot.
Going by form and rankings, it should be a cakewalk for India. While India is placed fifth in the world, Canada is lying way below, in the 13th position.
Indian men’s hockey squad
Chief coach: Graham Reid
The last time India played against Canada, in the 2019 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, the Manpreet Singh-led side won 7-3.
Despite the draw against England, the Indians would look to play to their strength, which is attacking hockey. However, while doing so, they will need to guard against complacency.
“Canada is a tough opponent, it has been a while since we faced them in any official tournament, but our game plan is clear and the players are ready to execute it perfectly as our preparations for this game have been rigorous,” Harmanpreet said.
After Canada, India will round off its pool engagements with a match against Wales on Thursday.
- PTI
When and where to watch India vs Canada, Commonwealth Games 2022 men’s hockey match?
The India vs Canada, Commonwealth Games 2022 men’s hockey match will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network. Live streaming will be available on Sony LIV from 6:30 PM IST.
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