ZONE D Final Playoffs
Auckland Polo Club, New Zealand
Feb 26 - Mar 4, 2007
 

(Images and results courtesy of the New Zealand Polo Association)

Day 3, Feb 28, 2007

India defeat Australia 7.5 - 6 on Day 3 of the FIP 2007 World Cup Zonal playoffs in New Zealand

India had their first win at the Federation of International Polo (FIP) World Cup Zone D final tournament today, beating Australia 7 ½ - 6 in a very even match. India received a ½ a goal head start as they were a 13 goal team vs. Australia’s 14 goal on handicap.

Indian Captain, Angad Kalaan, scored 6 of the teams 7 goals and together with Manupal Godara, proved a very strong combination and kept India right in the game. The scoring was close throughout, as both teams struggled to find form in the first half of the match which was dominated with the umpires whistle for fouls and penalties. In the fourth chukka the game started to open up with the hitting and running becoming better and it became goal for goal. 

Both teams were playing their second match of the tournament. Following their narrow 1 goal win against Pakistan, the Australian team tried the player rotation system for today’s match by replacing two of their players, however the new team combination took a while to settle down and potentially lost Australia the match. Australia, who next play South Africa on Saturday, need to improve their form if they are to stay in contention and qualify for the FIP World Final in Mexico.

India, who lost their first match to host team New Zealand, only changed one player, which improved their team play.

Images:
(Above) Manupal Godara and Australia's Dirk Gould
(Right) Tarun Sirohi and Australia's Will Gilmore

India 7.5 – Australia 6

Scorers:
India: Angad Kalaan – 6, Maupal Godara 1
Australia: Rob Ballard – 4, Andrew Williams – 1, Will Gilmore – 1