Bhubaneswar (Odisha):New Zealand held their nerves to edge India in the penalty shootout at the Kalinga Stadium on Sunday, as the hosts crashed out of the 2023 Hockey World Cup. Despite being ahead in the game, India missed the opportunity to build on a 3-1 lead in the third quarter, when New Zealand scored twice in the final quarter to tie the game at the end of the regular time, forcing a penalty shootout.
In regular time, India's goals came from Lalit Upadhyay (17 minutes), Sukhjeet Singh (24 minutes), and Varun Kumar (40 minutes), whereas the Black Sticks' goals came from Sam Lane (28 minutes), Kane Russell (43 minutes), and Sean Findlay (49 minutes). India battled back to tie the score at 3-3 in the shootout thanks to a few outstanding saves from seasoned goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, and had two chances in the sudden death as Shamsher Singh missed the final shootout attempt to lose 4-5 in front of the home crowd.
India started the crucial match aggressively as they stormed into New Zealand's circle in the first minute. The hosts lost possession but looked determined to take the lead as they made another penetration in the third minute through India number 11 Mandeep Singh, who made an excellent run into the Kiwi circle. New Zealand made their first attack in the sixth minute through a long aerial pass but the hosts counterattacked quickly, coming perilously close to scoring the first goal, but the New Zealand defence stayed alert to avert any danger.
Nic Woods was issued a green card in the eighth minute, forcing the Kiwi side to play with a 10-man team for two minutes. Manpreet Singh too was issued a green card for carrying on to play even after the referee's whistle to stop play.
The hosts face a goal threat in the 11th minute but India's resolute defence made sure the ball did not go past them. India earned their first penalty corner PC) in the 13th minute with Harmanpreet sending the ball to the left of the goalkeeper but failing to find the back of the net. New Zealand survived another scare in the dying minutes as the first quarter ended goalless.
Thrilling action ensued in the second quarter, with both teams creating chances in the initial minutes. India finally made the breakthrough in the 17th minute of the game with Shamsher sending the ball across to Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, who blasted the ball into the New Zealand goalpost to put the hosts ahead. India secured two consecutive PCs in the 22nd minute but failed to convert them. However, India did score a goal on the rebound but New Zealand used their referral for it to be denied by the third umpire.
The 23rd minute saw India earn another PC but yet again the hosts failed to score as the chance went begging. Sukhjeet Singh extended India's lead to two goals in the 24th minute, sending the rebound of Nixon into the goalpost. New Zealand sprung into action in the final minutes of the second quarter as Sam Lane found the back of the net in the 28th minute to reduce India's lead to one goal.