Perth, Nov 5 (IANS): The Indian men's hockey team came back strongly from their 0-4 washout Tuesday to World Champions Australia to level the four-match Test series at 1-1 by defeating them 2-1 in their own den here Wednesday.

World No.9 India started aggressively and kept their opponents busy in the first two quarters. On a few occasions, they managed to sneak into Australian defence by creating good opportunities.

However, Commonwealth Games champions Australia drew first blood in the 30th minute when forward Matt Gohdes deflected a shot and sent the ball into the box, taking a 1-0 lead just before the end of the second quarter.

In the third quarter, Australia earned a penalty corner which was well defended by India who immediately attacked the Australian D through a long pass. It was captain Sardar Singh who cleverly forwarded the ball to Ramandeep Singh and the forward did no mistake in netting the ball to help the team equalise in the 33rd minute.

The equaliser saw India step up their tempo and attack again in the next minute through a long pass at the Australia D. This time forward S.V. Sunil single-handedly took the ball to the opponents’ D and cleverly ensured that he puts the ball past the goalkeeper, giving India the second goal and the lead.

In the fourth quarter, both India and Australia fought neck-and-neck and challenged each other. India continued their attack till the last minute and tried to create more chances but faced a defensive Australia, who managed to hold the scorecard at 1-2 till the final whistle.

The third match will be played Nov 8.