India started their campaign for the Hockey World Cup 2018 in style as they completely dominated the South African side to beat them 5-0. The crowd at the Kalinga stadium cheered as the Indian team hammered the African side.
Both the teams were placed in Group C alongside Belgium and Canada. The goal scorer for the Indian side was Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh (two goals) and Lalit Upadhyay.
Team India was dominating from the very beginning as striker Mandeep Singh scored the first goal for India at the very beginning of the 9th minute and then India managed to grow the lead by 2-0 as Akashdeep capitalised at the opportunity as he collected the ball on the right flank and smashed a goal at the 12th minute.
9' GOAL! @mandeepsingh995 gets India off to a great start as he slams in the rebound from @13harmanpreet's set-piece flick.
IND 1-0 RSA#IndiaKaGame #HWC2018 #DilHockey #INDvRSA pic.twitter.com/n0xSoh2ChD
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) November 28, 2018
In the second quarter, the Indian side kept attacking and despite few penalty corners, either side failed to score in the third quarter. The South African side were the better defenders in the second quarters.
By the halftime, the Indian team kept 66% possession and did not allow the opponent to get back in the match.
The third half started with Indian side playing in the field with oozing confidence moving the ball swiftly, at at the 43rd minute, Mandeep Singh took the ball on the right flank and produced a great cross and all Simranjeet needed to do was just tap the ball into the goal to make it 3-0 for India.
43' GOAL! @mandeepsingh995's quick run and cross into the circle are perfectly timed for Simranjeet to finish. India lead by 3!
IND 3-0 RSA#IndiaKaGame #HWC2018 #DilHockey #INDvRSA pic.twitter.com/sVFlcZYJqa
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) November 28, 2018
Another goal came at an interval of two minutes of the third goal as Akashdeep send the ball into the goal area in the 45th minute, where Lalit guides the ball into the goal. India lead 4-0 at the end of the third quarter.
45' GOAL! @akashdeeps985's comes into play as he delivers a deep ball into the circle with just power on it speed for @lalithockey to deflect into the goal.
IND 4-0 RSA#IndiaKaGame #HWC2018 #DilHockey #INDvRSA pic.twitter.com/Rl0UC2bksu
— Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) November 28, 2018
The fifth goal came out of nowhere in the fourth quarter as India failed to capitalize on a penalty corner, but eventually, Simranjeet Singh was there to intercept the rebound and scored a goal from a close distance.
Simranjeet Singh is named the Man of the Match for scoring two goals and team India now faces a more tougher challenge in Belgium whom team India play this Sunday at 7 pm.
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Hockey World Cup 2018: Full fixture list, dates of all match ups and TV Channel
