I am optimistic about India’s chances against Australia, but with certain changes in the attack. Especially in the positioning of star striker Dhanraj Pillay, who is being marked so tight that he has little room to move. In fact, I believe Pillay should be switched to the left flank with Bimal Lakra in support.What’s most important for the progress of Indian attack is the aggressive moves or accelerations by the striker in short bursts in order to destabilise the Aussie defence. There is no time to think of holding back or going into last-minute attacks for a goal or penalty corner.The midfield coordination, which has only been visible in patches, cannot be accepted against the speed and acceleration of the Aussies. There has to be better, faster movement of midfielders in changing flanks and in supporting the attack as a center half or attacking half. It has been proved and is still a belief that Indian hockey can dominate any team with the ‘V’ hockey style of play, which has always been our strength.The Aussies are, at the moment, the most unorganized side with a separated defensive system and with an inconsistent penalty corner conversion rate. They’ve also lost to India the last time the two teams played each other, in Australia.We don’t have to follow their speed or game changeovers; instead, keep possession and make short moves in combination with midfield halves whether from right, left or center.On a different note, what’s been pleasing to see is the large number of goals scored in this tournament, including 11 in the Pakistan-Argentina match. I feel it is good for the development of field hockey.In fact, it is not surprising for me to see so many goals because every coach realises the Champions trophy as a competition preparatory to the World cup and/or Olympic Games.The competition structure has been timed so well that the teams are prepared to take free chances in experimenting with their defensive and attacking options. As a result the game can be seen wide open during the initial matches and will definitely start folding down in the end.I would suggest the Indian team to also follow the same approach,as it is more important for us to stay in the best three top teams with a medal and concentrating more on our next main goal, the Olympic qualifiers, in March next year.
