Confident India face Australia in third hockey Test

Buoyed by their 2-1 win in the previous match, the Indian men's hockey team will look to build on their impressive showing when they face Australia in the third of the four-match Test series at the Perth Hockey Stadium here Saturday.

India came back strongly after the world champions thrashed them 4-0 in the opening encounter.

"It is a good learning process that we all are going through by playing against the world's top ranked team. As witnessed in the first two matches itself, where we lost the first match, the improvement was evident in the second match as we stunned Australia," skipper Sardar Singh said ahead of the match.

"The team is more prepared now and is learning to be more challenging. Our ball possession and long passes were good in the last game and we are hoping to deliver better results in the upcoming matches."

Speaking before the third match, chief coach Terry Walsh said: "We knew that this tournament will not be easy but with the way these boys fought back in the second match is really commendable.

"We are studying the faulty areas and are working hard to overcome them. The team is preparing hard and is looking in good shape to give a similar fight as the last match and delivering favourable results."