Thanks for tuning into Sportstar’s live coverage of the men’s hockey Group B match between India and Wales. This was Nihit Sachdeva taking you through the action as it unfolded at the University of Birmingham Hockey and Squash centre.
| INDIA | 4 |
| WALES | 1 |
India will next be in action in the semifinals on Saturday.
Summary: Wales started the game with a compact defense but as the match went on, the Indian team managed to find holes in it. Vice-captain Harmanpreet was the star again for India, scoring three goals - two via Penalty Corners and one via Penalty stroke. India is through to the semifinal and as things stand, tops the group with 10 points from 4 games. England can match India in terms of points by beating Canada in its final group match. However, in order to top the group, England has to win by a margin of 15 goals.
FOURTH QUARTER
60’ Final whistle!!! India beats Wales 4-1 to reach the semifinals at 2022 Commonwealth Games
60’ PC retaken, Harmanpreet’s effort is saved by the Welsh goalie but somehow, the ball finds its way to Indian captain who holds the ball for a bit before hitting it towards the Welsh defender. PC is awarded but Wales takes the referral and the decision is overturned as the ball had touch the Welsh player’s stick and then his hand. Free hit for Wales.
60’ Harmanpreet’s drag flick hits a rushing Hywel Jones in the foot and the Welsh defender is forced to go off the field.
59’ Last two minutes of this match. India finds another PC as Shamsher hits the ball towards the goal following a cheeky back pass from Lalit. The Welsh defender got his stick on the ball but then, the ball hit his foot.
57’ Welsh offense almost found another goal. Krishan Pathak did well to save the shot at his near post. Indians have slowed down a bit in the last few minutes.
55’ GOALLLLL!!!!! Wales opens its account through Gareth Furlong who shifts from left to right castle before hitting the drag flick towards the center. Ball takes a deflection off Surender’s stick before finding its way to the bottom right corner. Rhys Bradshaw had earned the PC for Wales as he targeted Krishan Pathak’s far post from the left and Jugraj put his foot in the way.
54’ Great move by Wales all the way from its own back. Did well to get the ball on the right flank and put it in for Rupert Shipperley but the Welsh midfielder could not get any touch on the ball.
52’ Luke Hawker gets the ball inside the Indian D and puts it through for Dolan-Gray. However, the Welsh forward makes no contact whatsoever with the ball as it rolls out of play.
50’ Penalty Corner for Wales. Gareth Furlong provides the aerial pass from his own half to Francis on the left flank. Francis makes the run towards the D. There is a stick check by Amit Rohidas on the edge of the circle and hence, the PC has been awarded. India loses the referral saying that Rohidas blocked the ball. Furlong takes the drag flick and Krishan Pathak stands his ground to save the ball headed towards his right.
49’ GOALLLLL!!!!!! Gurjant taps the ball in at the far post following a pass from Shamsher from the centre of the circle. The goal is initially disallowed but video referral used by India turns out to be right. The video official does not think that Shamsher’s pass, slightly aerial, is dangerous play. The on-field umpire asks if the whistle had been blown before the shot was taken. It wasn’t. The goal stands!
47’ Akashdeep with an audacious attempt hits the near post from the right. Nilakanta put in the ball from the midfield, the Welsh goalied saved it but Akashdeep was there for the rebound.
46’ Final quarter starts. Last 15 minutes for Wales in this tournament unless it can turn it around. Tough ask.
THIRD QUARTER
45’ End of third quarter. India leads 3-0.
45’ Last minute of the third quarter and Wales is pressing as hard as it can to get something on the scoresheet.
43’ India looks satisfied with keeping possession for the remainder of the third quarter.
41’ GOALLL!!!!!! Harmanpreet takes the penalty stroke and hits it in the top left corner while the Welsh goalie goes the other way. Second hat-trick of the tournament for the Indian vice-captain. He is also the highest scorer at the current edition of WCG with nine goals.
41’ Varun’s drag flick following the PC takes a deflection off a Welsh foot and India gets another PC. Harmanpreet goes with the drag flick on the retake, directs it to Lalit on the right post who deflects it towards the goal but Welsh defender Kyriakides blocks the ball with his body when goalkeeper Reynolds-Cotterill was not in a position to save. You can not do that. Penalty stroke for India. Umpire uses the referral just to check if he made the right call and as it turns out, he did.
40’ Lalit does excellent work inside the D trapping the long aerial ball delivered to him all the way before dancing his way through the Welsh defense and finding Akashdeep in front of the goal. Akashdeep takes the shot and hits Wall’s foot.
40’ Manpreet on the defensive duty. Welsh attack entered through the right but the Indian captain stopped it in its tracks.
38’ Lovely counter by Indians as Akashdeep receives the ball inside the Welsh half and wrongfoots the opposition player. Akashdeep to Jarmanpreet who puts it inside the D for Gurjant who is unable to trap the ball.
36’ Gurjant has been warned of a possible suspension and asked to avoid any tussle with the Welsh defenders.
35’ A push in the back on Welsh defender Daniel Kyriakides by Gurjant inside the Welsh half and it is a free hit for Wales.
34’ Wales looks to patiently construct a move from the left flank but loses possession rather tamely.
32’ A push in the back on Abhishek on the edge of the Welsh circle and India gets a free hit. A few moments later, India gets a PC courtesy of some intelligent work by Varun and Lalit. Varun took the free hit and put the ball towards the edge of the circle where Lalit came forward and simply deflected the ball onto a Welsh player’s foot. Harmanpreet with the drag flick but the effort goes block by the stick of a Welsh defender. No PC retake.
31’ Third quarter begins. Amit Rohidas is back on the pitch.
Half-time summary: Barring the two goals it has conceded, Wales has played disciplined hockey. The stats show that it has been a close match so far with the possession 51%-49% and circle penetrations 11-7 in favour of India. Manpreet Singh’s men will look to stay sharp and convert any opportunity they get in the second half as well.
SECOND QUARTER
30’ End of first half. India leads 2-0 and as things stand, stays top of Group B.
29’ Probably best chance of the match for Wales. Carson does well to control the pass inside the D but instead of taking the shot, passes it to Shipperley on the right as Pathak closes in on him. Shipperley fails to get the required deflection off his stick to put the ball into the Indian goal.
27’ Welsh forwards press the Indian defenders hard but it gives the opportunity to release the ball and Jarmanpreet with acres of space on the left flank. Jarmanpreet puts it ahead for Mandeep but the Indian forward is unable to stop the ball from going out.
25’ Wales defense waits for the Indians to press before launching the aerial ball for the counter-attack but the Indian defense does well to take control of the ball and avoid any danger.
23’ Green card for Mandeep for indiscipline. India down to 10-men for two minutes.
23’ Dolan-Gray finds himself in a one-on-one situation against Pathak. He beats the Indian goalie and puts in the ball from the right looking for a tap-in from his teammates but Jarmanpreet blocks it midway.
21’ Carson takes a shot on goal from the left inside the D. The effort goes wide.
21’ Abhishek steals the ball from Kyriakides on the right flank near the centerline before passing it to Lalit in the middle. Abhishek continues his run on the right, enters the circle and Lalit puts him through. Abhishek passes it to an unmarked Akashdeep at the far post who fails to execute the tap-in.
19’ GOALLL!!!!!!! Two in two minutes for Harmanpreet. Varun earned the PC hitting Wall’s foot after a cross aerial pass from Harmanpreet from the midfield found him on the right edge of the circle. Hardik injected the ball, Vivek trapped it and Harmanpreet went for a high drag flick this time finding the gap between Welsh defender Kyriakides and goalie Reynolds-Cotterill in the right corner. India leads 2-0.
18’ GOALLLLL!!!!!!! Shamsher injects the ball, Vivek Sagar traps it before a gentle drag flick directed towards the bottom left corner from Harmanpreet finds the back of the goal. India leads 1-0.
18’ Green card for Benjamin Francis. A few moments later, India earns a penalty corner as Jarmanpreet’s pass from the right inside the D finds Hywel Jones’ foot at the far post. Harmanpreet with the drag flick, the shot gets blocked by a rushing Hywel Jones and hence, another PC. Wales uses the referral saying that the ball hit the rusher’s stick and not the knee, therefore no PC. Video official says “No advise possible.” PC stays.
18’ Nasty collision on the right flank near the halfway between Manpreet and Prosser. Prosser held his shape and hence, his elbow hit Manpreet in the face.
16’ Just like previous three games, there is a change in goalkeeping position after first quarter for India. Krishan Pathak replaces Sreejesh.
FIRST QUARTER
15’ First quarter ends goalless.
14’ Harmanpreet with a long pass from the right flank finds Mandeep inside the D but the Indian forward is unable to find any of his teammates for the tap-in.
13’ Ouch!!! Dolan-Gray looks to get the ball inside the Indian D from the left but the ball hits bang on Amit Rohidas’ hand. The Indian defender goes off the field as his hand had started bleeding and needed immediate attention.
12’ Mandeep looks to take the ball towards the D but he gets blocked by a Welsh defender and the umpire rules in favour of Wales for dangerous ball from Mandeep.
10’ Lapse in concentration from the Indian defense as the Welsh attack manages to get the ball inside the D following a quickly taken free hit by Griffiths. The Welsh midfielder’s aerial pass finds Carson inside the D who controls the ball with the first touch before taking the shot from the right but Sreejesh blocks the effort without much fuss.
8’ Penalty Corner for India and this time no challenge from Wales. Nilakanta gets the ball inside the D, Lalit takes the shot, ball comes of a Welsh stick onto a defender’s foot. Varun hits the drag flick without any elevation and directed towards the bottom right corner but a nice save from Welsh Goalie Reynolds-Cotterill. Long corner for India.
7’ Sloppy work in defense from Hardik. Lost the ball too easily inside his own half. Luckily, Wales could not do much from the advantage.
5’ Penalty Corner awarded to India. However, Wales uses the referral and the decision is overturned as the ball touched the back of Mandeep’s stick inside the D. Free hit for Wales.
4’ Amit Rohidas loses the ball inside his own half, Wales charges towards the D, Dolan-Gray takes the shot from outside the D and hence Sreejesh just lets it go into the goal. No touch from a Welsh player inside the D and hence, the goal does not count.
3’ Wales tries for the aerial pass on the left flank but the ball goes over Dolan-Gray’s head and out.
1’ Wales keeps possession for the first 50 seconds or so before losing the ball inside the Indian half.
Game time!!!!
6:28 PM: Both teams come out onto the pitch. First up, the Welsh side in black coloured jerseys followed by the Indians in white.
6:27 PM: Temperature conditions:-
Temperature - 2o degree Celsius
Humidity - 44 percent
Wind Speed - 16 km/h
6:20 PM: Just 10 minutes to go before live action begins.
6:10 PM: Qualification scenarios
India qualifies for the semifinals if
- India beats Wales
- India plays draw against Wales
- India loses to Wales but England also loses to Canada
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
WALES
Forwards: Owain Dolan-Gray, Luke Hawker, James Carson, Benjamin Francis
Midfielders: Jacob Draper, Lewis Prosser, Rupert Shipperley, Gareth Griffiths, Alf Dinnie, Dale Hutchinson, Rhys Bradshaw
Defenders: Daniel Kyriakides, Ioan Wall, Gareth Furlong, Hywel Jones, Stephen Kelly
Goalkeepers: Tobias Reynolds-Cotterill, Dewi Roblin
5:40 PM: Head-to-head record
India has won all four matches it has played against Wales. The last meeting between the two side took place during the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast which India won 4-3.
PREVIEW
The Indian men’s hockey team will look to finish at the top of Group B and book its place in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham when it faces Wales in its final group match on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the men in blue bettered their already impressive head-to-head record against Canada to 27-4, flooring the side 8-0 in their third group match to move to the top of the group with seven points from three matches.
Vice-captain Harmanpreet Singh, having two of his early efforts from a penalty corner blocked, one of those fearlessly so by an onrushing Brendan Guraliuk, slotted home in the seventh minute to get India up and running.
A magical moment followed, three minutes later, as Varun Kumar set Amit Rohidas up with a pass for the ages from the right. Amit, trapping the ball at the edge of the circle, dribbled past a clueless Canadian defence to extend India’s lead.
In the 20th minute, taking advantage of a goalmouth squabble after a penalty corner, Lalit Upadhyay dragged one onto the target, the ball palmed homeward by the goalkeeper’s arm.
Gurjant Singh, who sat out the last 10 minutes of the previous game against England after seeing a yellow card, gave Indian fans more reasons to smile on this occasion as he slid valiantly across the turf to tap in a cross from Hardik Singh in the 27th minute.
At the halfway mark, India, ranked fifth in the world, led 4-0. The party, though, had just started.
In the 38th minute, Vivek Sagar Prasad opened the Canadian defence from the right for Akashdeep Singh to hammer in the fifth.
Indian men’s hockey squad
Chief coach: Graham Reid
Harmanpreet moved to second on the individual scorers’ tally in CWG, behind England’s Nicholas Bandurak (7), with a sixth successful penalty corner conversion in the 56th minute.
Mandeep and Akashdeep fired in the seventh and eighth goals respectively to complete the annihilation of a Canadian side that looked mostly clueless throughout. The only bright spot, in what was a day to forget for the John Smythe-led team, was the individual performance from Guraliuk.
“It was important for us to score as many goals as possible after the draw against England (4-4 in the last outing. We missed quite a few chances today too. But we are happy with the result. It is a good score,” India skipper Manpreet said after the game.
“There is no place for complacency. Our target is to score more, concede less and top the group.”
Where to watch India vs Wales, Commonwealth Games 2022 men’s hockey match?
The India vs Wales, Commonwealth Games 2022 men’s hockey match will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network. Live streaming will be available on Sony LIV.
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