Australia vs India Highlights & Replay, Sultan of Johor Cup 2025: India suffer first defeat of campaign as Australia reach finals

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After the disappointing draw against Pakistan yesterday, the Indian junior men’s hockey team will look to bounce back to winning ways quickly when they meet table toppers Australia in their next match at the Sultan of Johor Cup 2025.

India had to fight back from two goals down to salvage a point against their arch-rivals Pakistan. Not only did they reverse the two-goal deficit, but also took lead in the final quarter. However, Pakistan equalised with minutes remaining to share a point apiece.

Also Read: India vs Pakistan Highlights & Replay, Sultan of Johor Cup 2025

Australia, on the other hand, defeated defending champions Great Britain in their previous match to pip India to the top of the standings. With two wins and a draw from three matches, they are level on points with India, but ahead on goal difference.

Both sides have seven points each. But India have shipped in seven goals in response to scoring 10 while Australia have conceded just once so far in the tournament. It came in the 1-1 draw against Malaysia in their second game.

For India to defeat the two-time champions, PR Sreejesh’s side will have tighten their defence. They have conceded at least two goals in each of their first three matches.

India have been scoring freely—they have netted 10 times—but that has been negated by their leaky defence, resulting in all three matches turning into close encounters.

Also Read: Sultan of Johor Cup 2025: Schedule, fixtures, results & live streaming details

Against Australia, who have finished as runner-up in each of the last three editions, India will expect a close game. The hockey Kookaburras will be desperate for a title, having last won one in 2017.

They also finished second best to India in the 2022 final and were beaten by Germany and Great Britain respectively in the last two editions.

The tournament is being played in a round-robin format, where each of the six participating teams will face the other five once, resulting in five league-stage matches per team.

Based on points earned, the top two teams will qualify for the final to compete for the title, while the third and fourth-placed teams will contest for the bronze medal. Teams finishing fifth and sixth will play a classification match to determine their final positions.

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