India conceded the goal in dying minutes of the match to play out 2-2 draw against Australia in the first hockey Test of the three-match series in Rajnandgaon on Thursday. This series is the preparation for Hockey World League (HWL) Final that will be held in Raipur from November 27 to December 6.
India were going well towards the victory over the visitors with a scoreline of 2-1 before Chris Ciriello converted the penalty corner in the 58th minute to make it 2-2. The second match of the series will be played on Sunday at 18:30 (IST) in Raipur.
Australia struck early to put India under pressure with a brilliant field goal by Dylan Wotherspoon in the 9th minute of the first quarter. Soon after India were awarded their first penalty corner but drag-flicker VR Raghunath hit wide of the goal post to make the mess of it.
Australia continued their dominance in the second quarter before Harjot Singh came up with a great save to deny visitors stretching the lead. India picked up the pace in the match through Raghunath, who scored back-to-back goals via penalty corners to give India crucial 2-1 lead.