The Indian eves well aware of the fact that their match today against the South Africans was a decider for entering the next stage, the team performed with perfection and showcased great physical strength against the experienced and higher ranked South African team today in the XX Commonwealth Games at Glasgow, Scotland. India with great determination kept the attack on the semi-circle of the rivals persistently all through out and looked for scoring opportunities. This was also hugely complemented by the brilliant saves by Goalkeeper Savita who was vigilant and on her toes, hence leaving the forward rivals frustrated on many occasions.
The game started with great speed with both the teams looking at scoring an early goal. The Indian girls looked more persistent in the early minutes with good ball possession and attack but were unable to capitalize on the early opportunities. It was in the 14th minute that South Africa finally converted through the penalty corner opportunity that that they earned and it was Tarryn Bright who gave the much required lead to her team. This did not put a dent on the spirits of the Indian team and the young brigade kept their attack on the opponents hence showing their intent to equalize. On the other hand the opponent team’s forward, irrespective of their many tries were unable to get through the defence of India leaving them desperate to score and take a lead further. Finally as the match was approaching the finish of the first half, India were awarded with a penalty stroke and was brilliantly converted by Jaspreet Kaur. The equalizer goal came in the 34th minute leaving the opponents stunned. Wasting no time, South Africa immediately attacked and took the lead again in the 35th minute scoring field goal through Dirkie Chamberlain and the score card read 2-1 at half time.
The second half started with India high on attack which showcased their intentions to equalize and this they proved by their ball possession and also by keeping the opponent’s defence busy. On the other hand the Indian defence was more active and hence making it difficult for the opponents to reach their semi-circle easily. It was in the 54th minute when Dirkie Chamberlain had a shot at the goal and was successfully saved by Savita but unfortunately for India as Illse Davids immediately had another shot and this time converted the goal which helped South Africa take the lead further to 3-1. Undeterred by the goal the Indian team upped their ante and attacked the opponent’s immediately. In the 59th minute India scored through the penalty corner that they got and was converted through the stick of Rani which took the score to 3-2 with South Africa leading. Here on both the teams kept looking for scoring opportunities but were unable to score any further goal. The game ended with India losing 2-3 but the fight that they put against the experienced South African side was inspiring.
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