Match: Australia v India
Date: 16 December, Friday
Time: 8:30pm SGT/6pm IST/12:30pm GMT
Competition: Junior Hockey World Cup 2016
Venue: Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, Lucknow, India.
TV Channel: There is no TV coverage in Singapore.
Live Streaming: The matches can be watched live online on Hotstar, Olympic Channel
Live Updates will be available on the tournament's official website.
Overview
India and Australia will battle for a spot in the final of the Junior Hockey World Cup in the North Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on Friday.
The hosts stormed into the quarter-final with a perfect record after beating Canada, England and South Africa in the group stages. On Thursday though, the Men in Blue were tested by old foes Spain in the last-eight match.
Marc Serrahima opened the scoring for Spain in the 22nd minute and the visitors were holding to the lead until the 57th minute of the game, much to the agony of the packed crowd at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium. However, Simranjeet Singh converted a penalty to level the score.
It was only in the last ten minutes when India's top-scorer Harmanpreet Singh converted another penalty, the ninth of the 10 the hosts had on Thursday, to give them the lead, which proved unassailable in the end.
On Friday, a lot will depend on Harmanpreet and Co. to get the job done for the hosts in the all-imporant semi-final clash. The 2001 winners have been strong upfront so far but have displayed weakness at the back when pressed by stronger teams of the likes of England and Spain.
On the other hand, three-time runners up Australia overcame a stiff challenge from European powerhouse Netherlands in their quarter-final clash on Thursday. Kiran Arunasalam scored a good field goal to put them in the lead in the first half. Dutch teenager Jip Janssen though equalised from the penalty corner in the 47th minute.
Australia managed another one when Jack Welch sent one past the goalkeeper to seal the semi-final spot. It will be a test for the impressive Pool A winners against the in-form hosts, who will be backed by a strong home support on Friday.
TV Schedule
India: Star Sports 4
