Bhubaneswar: India will take on New Zealand in a do-or-die crossover tie at the FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela on Sunday, January 22 for a place in the quarterfinals. Having finished second in pool D, behind England on goal difference, an unbeaten India are optimistic ahead of the crucial match, which yet again promises to be a house-full affair with tickets for the match being sold out.
India had started their campaign with a 2-0 win against Spain, held fifth-ranked England to a draw and managed to prevail 4-2 over minnows Wales to finish unbeaten in Pool D, tied on seven points with England but with an inferior goal difference. New Zealand, on the other hand, finished third in Pool C after suffering a shock 2-3 defeat against Malaysia. The Black Sticks had also lost 0-4 to the Netherlands, managing to score only five goals and conceding eight — their lone win coming against Chile.
India too have struggled to score goals and have a tally of six goals from three matches. They have also conceded two goals against Wales in two minutes of sustained pressure that saw the Indian defence crumble. Though the Indian team finished undefeated in Pool D, their performance has not been as good as they would have liked.
India had beaten them twice (4-3 and 7-4) in October-November last year during the FIH Pro League at the same stadium here but New Zealand are no pushovers in world hockey.
Squads:
India: Harmanpreet Singh (captain), Abhishek, Surender Kumar, Manpreet Singh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Mandeep Singh, Lalit Upadhyay, Krishan Pathak, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, PR Sreejesh, Nilakanta Sharma, Shamsher Singh, Varun Kumar, Akashdeep Singh, Amit Rohidas, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Sukhjeet Singh
New Zealand: Nic Woods (captain), Dom Dixon, Dane Lett, Simon Child, Nick Ross, Sam Hiha, Kim Kingston, Jake Smith, Sam Lane, Simon Yorston, Aidan Sarikaya, Joe Morrison, Leon Hayward, Kane Russell, Blair Tarrant, Sean Findlay, Hayden Phillips, Charlie Morrison.
When: January 22, 2023
Where to Watch: Star Sports network
Live Streaming: Hotstar & Fan Code
Timing: 7 pm IST onwards
