It can’t get much worse

But the players also need to realise that an India-Pakistan match cannot be the only way to save them from an overall poor show.

They have to get more professional, to understand that they have to perform consistently up to the expectations irrespective of the opposition. The way things have been so far in this tournament, it appears as if the Indians are just not motivated enough to play here.

Their body language and their lack of ideas conveys that they are just not focussed on any target, they have simply lost hope, and they are just going through the motions on-field. This does not augur well for Indian hockey.

The good point, though, is the way they have managed to come back in the second half. If the statistics are any indication, India are among the top three teams in terms of circle penetration. But the inability to convert those chances remains a concern.

Against Pakistan, basic skills such as trapping the ball went awry. The passing inside the circle is too slow, there is no attempt to create space in the opposition for the strikers, and the midfield is invisible.

At the rear, it still remains a one-man army holding up the opposition attack —and he needs support. Dilip Tirkey is fortunate to have goalkeeper Devesh Chauhan in fine form, else this could have easily been perhaps a worse outing for the team, much more than last year.

The last match against Australia will be more of a face-saver for India than anything else. What they have to do is to try and begin the match in the same tempo as they play the second halves.

India has to realise that Australia are the only team in the world that can force the pace of the match completely according to their wishes.

The only way to counter them is to play a close defence and more counters. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain.