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India were cruising at 2-0 but gave up their advantage to New Zealand, with the Black Sticks ending up on the winner's side during their crossover game at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar on Sunday, January 22.
The side took the lead courtesy of Lalit Kumar Upadhyay and then Sukhjeet Singh doubled the lead. Sam Lane brought New Zealand back into the game but Varun Kumar added a third for the host side. Eventually, two penalty-corner conversions by Kane Russell and Sean Findlay brought the Black Sticks back into the match.
With the game tied at 3-3 at full time, the match was forced into a shootout. After multiple excellent saves from veteran goalkeeper PR Sreejesh, including one that left him with a bad injury, skipper Harmanpreet Singh could have given India the victory but failed after missing his penalty stroke. A lot of drama ensued, and eventually, the onus fell on Shamsher Singh, who missed his chance too as New Zealand edged to the win.
Indian fans on Twitter were unhappy with the result and felt like this team were a shade of the side that won medals at the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games.
Here are some of those reactions:
