Turf wars: India v South Africa

BACKS IN ACTION: Defence has been the weak link for India in the recent past but it held out against the Dutch. Marshalled by captain Dilip Tirkey, who had an excellent match, the Indian defence made up for the lacklustre forward line

RANK FAVOURITES: India are ranked 6th in the world, South Africa 13th. Though rankings don’t make much of a difference in the Olympics, this fact should give India much-needed psychological comfort

PLAYING TO FORM: There were traces of individual brilliance in India’s performance on Sunday. The team played well in patches, and could be a step away from getting together as an 11-member unit

EDGE OF EXPERIENCE: India are superior both in talent and experience. South Africa have two danger men, goalscorer Greg Nicol — who got both goals against Argentina — and provider Gregg Clark. If India contain them and eliminate the edginess one saw in the opening moments of the first match, they have a good chance of winning

HOLDING MIDFIELD: Despite being cramped by the Dutch, the Indian midfield did put up a decent performance, especially Viren Rasquinha and Vikram Pillay. Viren managed to hold on to the ball nicely but needs to shore up his passing

HOW INDIA CAN LOSE

GOAL DROUGHT: Well, they can’t score goals, for a start. Despite being among the best in contemporary hockey, the Indian forwards have a problem with deflections and with receiving the ball inside the shooting circle. Even the best defence can’t score winning goals

SAFS PLAY HARD: The South Africans play a physical game and are rougher than the Dutch. They are likely to be on the defensive in the initial stages and depend on counter-attacks. India will have to force the game — which brings us back to their attack

COMPLACENCY: India have a tendency to become complacent against lower-ranked teams — and pay a heavy price. They will have to guard against that if they want to win

CRACKING UNDER PRESSURE: The Men in Blue often crumble under pressure. On Sunday, they were in disarray after the initial setback in the second minute; by the time they got back together, the Dutch were completely in control

NO PLANNING: Doing away with rigidity is a positive sign but it’s currently without planning. While Gagan Ajit may fall back to help the defence, it does the team no good to leave the striking circle vacant; after all, the goals have to be scored by someone