Bangalore: The Indian men’s hockey team thrashed New Zealand 4-0 in the third and final Test to complete a series whitewash at the Sports Authority of India (SAI) centre here, Sunday.
Rupinder Pal Singh (eighth minute), Surender Kumar (15th), Mandeep Singh (44th) and Akashdeep Singh (60th) were on target for the hosts.
India took a lead in the first quarter after Rupinder found the net with a low flick from the home team’s second penalty corner, thus taking his personal goal count to four in the series.
Surender doubled the lead through a field effort after receiving a clever assist from Rupinder from the top of the striking circle. Veteran Sardar Singh and Simranjeet Singh then combined on the left flank to set up Mandeep for India’s third goal. Striker Akashdeep completed the rout just at the stroke of the final hooter.
India’s chief coach Harendra Singh expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance in the series ahead of the Asian Games in Indonesian twin cities of Jakarta and Palembang, August 18-September 2.
“Playing high intensity matches against one of the top 10 teams in the world ahead of the Asian Games is beneficial for us. We tried out different combinations and variations in penalty corners and we are now better prepared for the upcoming tournament,” stated Harendra.