Hockey: Sardar Singh's men go down 0-4 to Australia

It was India's first match post the entire Terry Walsh resignation saga. And the result was much on expected lines. Sardar Singh & Co went down 0-4 to Australia in the first of their four-match series in Perth on Tuesday.

Both the teams started with aggression, challenging each other's defence line. Australia earned their first penalty corner in the 15th minute and forward Jeremy Hayward successfully converted it, giving the hosts an early lead.

The second quarter also saw a fierce battle as India fought hard to equalise. The visitors managed to create a few opportunities but, as has been their problem for quite some time now, failed to convert those chances into goals. Australia pounced on those missed opportunities to make it 2-0, courtesy a field goal by forward Jacob Whetton in the 30th minute.

India continued to attack in the third quarter, but Australia stuck to their strength -- counter attack. Jeremy Edwards made it 3-0 in the 34th minute and five minutes later, midfielder Glenn Simpson successfully converted a penalty corner to make it 4-0. The second match of the series will be played on Wednesday.

Stopwatch: Australia 4 (J Hayward 15, J Whetton 30, J Edwards 34, G Simpson 39) beatt India 0