Indian eves beat Malaysia 2-0 in second hockey Test

Kuala Lumpur: India women`s hockey team struck twice in the opening half to register a 2-0 victory over hosts Malaysia in the second encounter of the six-match Test series here on Tuesday.

With today`s win, India take a 2-0 lead in the series, organised as a preparation for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The Indian eves had earlier thrashed Malaysia 5-0 in the opening Test yesterday. India opened the scoring in the 10th minute through a field goal by Anuradha Devi. The Indian girls doubled their lead in the 28th minute when Poonam Rani scored another brilliant field goal to take a 2-0 lead at the halftime. After the crossover, Malaysia tried hard to make a comeback but they failed to utilise their chances as the Indian goalkeeper made as many as four good saves to deny the hosts. Commenting on the match, India captain Ritu Rani said: "It is our second consecutive win against Malaysia and the team is motivated. I think we should have scored more goals in this match and our defenders again played well. The confidence level of the team is at all-time high and we look forward to win the remaining four games with bigger margins." The third Test of the series between India and Malaysia is scheduled for Thursday.