In their second encounter of the Hockey World League semifinals, India will take on Canada on Saturday, who are currently ranked at 11th place in the FIH World Rankings.
The Indian side will be looking to make it two wins out of two after their 4-1 win against Scotland in their opening match.
The Men in Blue will start as favourites ahead of this encounter and have a strong record against Canada, with two victories in two encounters at the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournaments in 2015 and 2016.
However, it was also Canada who held India to a 2-2 draw at last year’s Olympic Games, coming from behind thanks to a Scott Tupper brace.
India survived a scare in the first half of their opener against Scotland, going down a goal early in the first quarter and then failing to score in the first half hour. However, in the third quarter, they bounced back in style and killed off the game with four goals in quick succession.
Ramandeep Singh scored the first two, followed by Akashdeep’s Singh delightful deflection from a Manpreet Singh cross. Harmanpreet Singh added the fourth with a powerful drag flick from a penalty corner, as India picked up the win with a 4-1 scoreline.
Speaking ahead of the Canada match, captain Manpreet Singh said, “Though the team is ranked below us, we don’t want to take them lightly. They can come up with a good game and hence it is important for us to stick to the roles assigned y our coach and execute them as planned.”
Canada face Pakistan in their opener at 10.30 PM IST on Friday and will face India the very next day at 6.30 PM IST.
Squads
India – Akash Chikte, Vikas Dahiya, Pradeep Mor, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar, Jasjit Singh Kular, Harmanpreet Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Sumit, Satbir Singh, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh, Harjeet Singh, Ramandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Talwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh
Canada – Adam Froese, Antoni Kindler, Balraj Panesar, Brandon Pereira, Brenden Bissett, David Carter, Floris van Son, Gabriel Ho-Garcia, Gordon Johnston, Iain Smythe, James Kirkpatrick, John Smyth, Keegan Pereira, Mark Pearson, Matthew Sarmento, Scott Tupper, Sukhi Panesar, Taylor Curran
Match prediction:
After a slow start against the Scots, the Indian team will look to make a good start and seize the initiative from the beginning. Expect then to grab an early goal, build on it and see off the Canadian challenge by the final whistle.
Verdict – India 2-0 Scotland
Live match information
Time – 6.30 PM IST
Venue – Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, London
Broadcasting – Star Sports 2 HD/SD
Live Streaming – Hotstar
Source:SportsKeeda
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