After a week of rivetting hockey, the teams renew their rivalry in the second leg of the three-nation invitational tournament which starts with a match between India and Australia here tomorrow.The match at Wollongong here would give India the perfect opportunity to avenge their two defeats against Australia in the previous leg of the tournament in Perth. The Indians lost to Australia in a league match and then in the final where they conceded two goals in the last five minutes to lose the match from a winning position. Aussies will change their side: Rajinder • I am expecting a major change in the Australian side, which I feel will be very different to the one we played against in Perth. • We played well throughout the tournament in Perth. We were unfortunate to lose the final but the team’s showing improved with each outing. • Here we will be sticking to our task of trying out new combinations and strategies with an eye on the Champions Trophy and next year’s Olympics. • It was good to see the veterans and seniors playing in tandem. Their performance here augurs well for the future of Indian hockey. • I am still thinking on whom to drop, but I know two or three players are feeling the fatigue and need rest. The Schedule June 4: Australia vs India; Australia A vs Pakistan. June 5: Australia vs Pakistan; India vs Australia A. June 7: India vs Pakistan; Asutralia vs Australia A. June 8: Final; 3rd Place. But India’s overall showing last week was commendable as they beat arch-rivals Pakistan and also Australia ‘A’ on account of some good performances.India coach Rajinder Singh sounded optimistic about the challenge ahead when he said his team was ready to take on the mighty Australians, who are likely to make few changes to their side that played the Perth final on Sunday.But he was quick to add that the players were keen to perform well and continue experimenting here as this would be their last chance to finetune their skills before the Champions Trophy in Amsterdam in August. Despite finishing second, the first-leg gave the Indians the opportunity to try out new combinations to make their defence strong, which was till now considered a weak link in their preparations for bigger tournaments in future.Former captain Dilip Tirkey showed his class in the matches against Pakistan and the final in the company of Kanwalpreet Singh and Jugraj Singh.The much-improved performance of the defenders denied the Pakistanis from getting any penalty corners till the 50th minute and they hardly gave any space to the rampaging Australian strikers to have a go at the Indian goal for most part of the final.The veterans including skipper Dhanraj Pillay and Baljit Singh Dhillon shone at Perth scoring goals at crucial times.Rajinder Singh said the veterans gelled quite well with the youngsters in the team to help the side reach the final.Despite emerging stronger after the Perth meet, the chief coach said he will be making some changes to the side for tomorrow’s match.After tomorrow’s opener, India’s next match will be against Australia ‘A’ on Thursday. (PTI)
