Amit Rohidas (C) celebrates India’s first goal against Australia. (Credit: Hockey India)In his pre-match interview ahead of the Pro League match against Australia, India’s head coach Craig Fulton anticipated the question that was going to come at him. What must India do to tackle the mighty, unbeaten Kookaburras? “I’m gonna answer your question already,” he started. “We’ve got to be really physical, be good on the ball, because any cheap turnovers end up hurting you. These are the simple focus points for us.”ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEOFor three quarters, he’d have enjoyed what he saw. After five straight defeats, and more worryingly, five woeful performances, India had Australia right where they wanted. Amit Rohidas (15′) and Jugraj Singh (43′) had converted from India’s first two Penalty Corner opportunities and India had a 2-0 lead to protect. The potential first win of the season was within touching distance, and at half-time, Fulton remarked it was ‘a bit more like us’. Eventually, Australia’s relentlessness in the fourth quarter paid off as Joel Rintala (47′, 56′) managed to equalise – both from drag flicks – and then in the shootout, the hosts managed to clinch the bonus point. But overall, India’s best performance yet in the Pro League this season earned them at least their first point.Not that the bar was high, but after heavy defeats in Rourkela and a performance that perhaps deserved a bigger deficit against Spain on Saturday, there was a sense of dread about this clash against the Kookaburras, India’s Kryptonite over the years. Even in the best of times, India have tended to suffer losses by significant margins against Australia in the past, so what could happen to an out-of-form, underconfident side against a side yet to lose a match this season? That they managed to walk away with a draw is a credit to their defensive resolve for large parts of the match, and some bright spells of counterattacking hockey going forward.ALSO READ | Fifth straight loss for Indian hockey team: Spain lay bare flaws as Australia loom largeIn defence, there were some good early signs for Fulton’s side. They sat deep for the most part, but when Australia did break forward at pace, India got numbers back to stall them. Then, in the final few minutes of Q1, India had a brief spell of sustained presence in front of Australia’s goal, stitching together a superb passing move – the kind barely seen over the last five matches. After switching play from left to right, Sumit and Rajinder Singh played a delightful give-and-go, with the former running on the overlap and then finding Aditya Lalage. The young forward has been one of the brighter sparks in this dull run and did well to fashion half a chance, shooting wide of the goal on the turn. But it signalled that India were not just here to sit deep, but looking to create outcomes too.One such scenario brought about India’s first Penalty Corner opportunity after a good combination from Mandeep Singh and Pal. Rohidas stepped up to smash his signature low hit across the goal. The celebrations felt like a release of pent-up emotions.Australia’s celebration in the 27th minute was cut short when India successfully appealed for a stick obstruction before Cam Geddes found the back of the net off a deflection. Mohith HS made a really good close-range save in the final seconds as India entered the half-time break with a lead to protect.Story continues below this adIndia had a great chance to double the lead five minutes into the second half. Shilanand Lakra went on a mazy run from midfield all the way into the circle, dodging a bunch of defenders, and found the back of the net with a reverse hit – unfortunately for him and India, it was ruled out for backstick. While Australia continued to dominate possession in the third quarter too, India were posing threats. Rohidas was confidently driving out of defence, Hardik was dictating tempo, Shilanand and Aditya were providing effective outlets, and Mandeep was shielding the ball well up top.And it was the veteran who won a foul at the edge of the circle to win India’s second PC. After a somewhat fortuitous free hit won by Sanjay in midfield, Yashdeep Siwach reacted quickly to hit a low grounded pass to Mandeep, who positioned his body smartly to win the short corner. Jugraj nailed a low drag flick, drilling it to the right of the goalkeeper.India entered the final quarter with a deserved, yet scarcely believable, 2-0 lead. But Australia, expectedly, started the final quarter with wave after wave of attacking moves and India started to drop deeper. From a series of Penalty Corners, they finally breached India’s defence with Rintala’s flick past Mohith. The unforced errors of the Rourkela kind started to creep in, conceding soft PCs and losing the ball in defensive areas under no pressure. The equaliser came from a similar sort of situation to the first – from a hat-trick of PCs. Mohith saved once, Rohidas rushed out well to save another, but Rintala nailed it the third time. Mohith would pull off a sensational double save later to at least ensure India didn’t lose outright.Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assistant Editor and is based in New Delhi. ... Read More © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd