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India-Australia hockey matches have invariably witnessed cut-throat rivalry in recent times. India played Australia as many as eight times last year and the Blueshirts, who have not beaten the Aussies even once since 2010, got the better of them thrice on the trot in the four Test series in Perth last November en route to a historic Test series triumph.
And the year 2015 saw its first clash between the two teams in their concluding league game of the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament being played in Ipoh. India, had to settle for defeats against New Zealand and Malaysia thanks to their appalling ‘late goal’ factor, needed to restore their ‘pride’ more than anything else after managing just one win in four games going into their clash against the world champions Australia.
And what a performance it was from the Indians, who made their critics eat a humble pie and pulled off a sensational 4-2 win over Australia – their fourth win in their last nine meetings.
Vokkaliga Raghunath set the tempo for the game, scoring India’s first goal in the first minute of play through a penalty corner conversion, to unsettle the Aussies, who were left to do the catching up for a change. The Kookaburras came hard at India and equalized in the closing stages of the opening quarter to ensure it was even stevens at the end of the first quarter. India regained the lead in the second quarter when Nikkin Thimmaiah made the most of a defensive lapse in the Aussie defence with a smart ‘steal’ to score from the far post.
Indian goalkeeper PR Sreejesh blunted a penalty corner effort from Nick Budgeon to ensure his side held a 2-1 lead at half-time. It was Nikkin again, who made it 3-1 in the third quarter as the match went into the final quarter with the world champions left much to do.
Matt Ghodes tapped home Australia’s second goal in the 54th minute off a slap shot drilled in from outside the striking circle. The Kookaburras forced back-to-back penalty corner in the closing stages, but India did well to nullify them before Nikkin wrapped up his hat-trick as his side closed out a 4-2 win.
