India overcame Olympic semi-finalists Spain 3-2 in the second and final hockey Test in Chandigarh on Tuesday to gain a psychological boost ahead of the Champions Trophy, starting later this week.
India, who lost the first Test by a similar margin on Sunday, played an aggressive game and scored through Ignace Tirkey (10th minute), Sandeep Singh (25th) and Arjun Halappa (57th) in the tension-filled encounter.
The match saw the home side racing to a 2-0 lead in the first half and even though the Spaniards bounced back after the break, they were unable to get through the Indian defence in the final minutes as they searched for the equaliser.
Spain scored both their goals through penalty-corner conversions by Pau Quemada (48th minute) and Alberto Esteban (59th).
Overall, it was a good display by the Indian team, which, barring the odd lapse, played better than they did in the first Test.
Goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan, who has played second fiddle to Adrian D'Souza ever since the Athens Olympics, manned the post brilliantly in the first half to stake a strong claim for an elevation to number one keeper.
Adrian, who replaced his senior colleague after the break as coach Gerhard Rach did some experimenting in the side's final competitive match before the elite six-nation event in Lahore, also did well and came up with couple of fine saves.
