Result:

India draw with Australia 2-2.

Goal Scorers:

INDIA : Mukesh Kumar (1 min), Baljeet Singh Dhillon (25 min)
AUSTRALIA : Jay Stacy (4 min), Craig Victory (51 min)

Offensive Statistics:

INDIA : 3 penalty corners, 1 converted
AUSTRALIA : 5 penalty corners, 1 converted

Pre-Game Analysis:

Going into the game, there were two shocking results in Pool B. In the first match of the day, minnows Poland whipped Olympic silver medallists Spain 4-1. In a later match, Argentina held Korea to a 2-2 draw. The winner of the match between India and Australia would be the sole leader of Pool B.

Match Highlights:

This was probably the best match of the tournament so far. The game was played at a furious pace, with both teams not giving an inch.

In the 30th second of the game, Pillai latched on to a pass from Baljeet Dhillon, carried it at his characteristic lightning speed, wove past Holt and put a through ball to Mukesh, whose diving zero-angle reverse hit put the ball into the far corner of the net. Australian goalkeeper Lachlan Dreher almost had to rub his eyes when he turned around to see the ball inside the goal.

Australia equalized in the fourth minute through veteran Jay Stacy off their second penalty corner.

India went ahead once again in the 25th minute through a drag-flicked penalty-corner goal by Baljeet Dhillon, off their third penalty corner.

The Australians got their second equaliser in the 52nd minute of the match through a field effort, when Craig Victory slammed in a rising shot off a centre from Jay Stacy.

The mood among the Indian fans remained upbeat throughout the match, with several boys running around with the tricolour.

Post Match Strategies:

India next face Asia Cup champions Korea, probably the fittest team in the competition. Australia face Spain in a later match. These results could well decide the semi-finalists of Pool B.

 The last 4 meetings with Korea have been even - India lost to Korea in the World Cup, beat Korea (twice) in the Asian Games and lost to Korea in the Asia Cup.

India cannot afford to lose to the big 3 in our pool - Australia, Korea and Spain. Getting a draw is a minimum, while gaining a victory would book our tickets to the semi-final.