PERTH: The Indian women’s senior hockey team produced a spirited performance but went down 2-3 against Australia in the penultimate match of the bilateral series at Perth Hockey Stadium on Saturday.
Navneet Kaur (35th minute) and Lalremsiami (59th) were the scorers for India, while Australia struck through Grace Stewart (2nd), Jade Smith (36th), and Greta Hayes (42nd).
India had lost 3-5 and 2-3 to Australia 'A' side before going down 0-2 to Australia senior side on May 1. The final match of the series -- between the two senior teams -- will be played on Sunday.
In the first quarter, Australia struck first to take a 1-0 lead. The breakthrough came as early as the second minute when Grace found the back of the net.
India worked hard to level the score in the remainder of the quarter but could not find the equaliser.
In the second quarter, India successfully defended an early penalty corner and withstood another set-piece threat late in the period, keeping the deficit to a single goal at half-time.
India fought their way back into the contest in the third quarter, when Navneet successfully converted a penalty corner in the 35th minute to level the scores.
The respite was brief as Australia responded immediately with Jade’s field goal, giving them the lead in the 36th minute.
Australia won two more penalty corners, before Hayes’ 42nd minute goal extended their lead to 3-1.
India reduced the margin in the final quarter when Lalremsiami found the net late in the game. Australia then kept the Indian attack at bay to secure victory.