Indian Women's Hockey team continue winning streak, beat South Africa 4-0
Jan 20, 2023
Cape Town [South Africa], January 20 : Indian Women's Hockey Team continued their winning ways in South Africa as they defeated hosts 4-0 in their third match of the tour here today in Cape Town.
Vandana Katariya (20'), Deep Grace Ekka (18'), Rani Rampal (2'), and Sangita Kumari (46') all scored for India to give the guests an unstoppable 3-0 lead in the four-match Test series. India's last two games saw them triumph 5-1 and 7-0 over South Africa.
Having won the first two matches rather convincingly, the Indian team stuck to basics as they executed the chances really well and played a disciplined structure to stay ahead.
The match began swiftly with India creating fine chances in the circle. Rani has shown sublime form in her comeback Tour, who scored the first goal for India in the very 2nd minute of the match. The early 1-0 lead brought some stability to their game, as they took some time to settle in over the next few minutes of the first quarter.
The team launched fresh forays into the rival box in the second quarter. In the 18th minute, a penalty corner opportunity was well-converted by Deep Grace Ekka, a regular in India's PC attack. The 2-0 lead further gave India the ammunition to up their attack and put South Africa under pressure.
They scored their third goal quickly when Vandana Katariya struck a brilliant field goal in the 20th minute. While the third quarter remained goalless, India ended the proceedings with a field goal in the 46th minute via young sensation Sangita Kumari.
They held on to the 4-0 lead with a fine defensive performance and kept up the winning streak after a 5-1 and 7-0 win in the previous two games.
India's next game will be against South Africa on Saturday.
India will also play their three-match Test series against the top-ranked Netherlands at the same venue on January 23.
