With Australia already in the final following thumping triumphs against the two former Asian giants, the winners of the Pakistan-India encounter will feature in the title clash against the hosts on Nov. 3 in Perth.

Pakistan and India played out a 3-3 draw the last time they met in the double-header – an ill-tempered match that was stopped 95 seconds before the final whistle after players from the rival teams got engaged in a free for all.

Several players from both sides were injured and later after a probe, Tournament Director Graham Napier banned Indian hockey team manager, assistant manager and three players for matches ranging from one to five while Pakistan captain Shakeel Abbasi was banned for one match last Saturday.

Two of Pakistan’s key players Muhammad Imran and Shafqat Rasool received injuries and were forced to miss Sunday’s crucial match against Australia. The Aussies, who were leading 3-2 at half time, went on to thrash Pakistan 8-2 in the match. Skipper Abbasi also missed Sunday’s match because of the suspension.

However, Pakistan will be back to full strength, as Abbasi will return to lead them against India for a match that is virtually a semifinal with the winning team setting a date with Australia in the finale. Shafqat Rasool is set to be back while Imran is also likely to be fielded in the match.

“It’s good that we will have all our players available for tomorrow’s big match,” Khawaja Junaid, the Pakistan manager, told Arab News from Banbury, a small town about 250-km from Perth in Western Australia.

“We missed three of our key players in the match against Australia but thankfully things will be different against India,” said the former Olympian.

Junaid was confident that his charges will bounce back after being taught a hockey lesson by the Aussies in their 8-2 victory on Sunday.

“Australia are the best team in the world while we are ranked eighth at the moment,” he said. “They capitalized on our weaknesses and blemishes especially in the second half,” he added.

“But it’s a good learning curve. Such matches help you identify your weaknesses. We have learnt our lessons.

“If you consider the Olympics, it will help our preparations. Had we played closer matches against Australia, we would have not been able to identify our problem areas.”

Junaid also blamed the fact that his team played three high-pressure matches within a span of four days for Pakistan’s feeble show against Australia.

“We played three high-pressure matches in four days which made it tough for the players to give their best against the Aussies yesterday,” he said.

However, after a day’s rest a rejuvenated Pakistan team is ready to take on the Indians.

Junaid conceded that there will be plenty of pressure on the archrivals.

“There will be a lot of pressure on both the teams. Pakistan-India matches are always high-voltage encounters but we have told our players to put aside all emotions and just focus on playing good hockey.”

Junaid made it clear that even though India will be without three of their key players, Pakistan won’t have much margin for error.

“India will be under more pressure because several of their players will be unavailable. We will make full use of their absence. But that doesn’t mean that we can take anything for granted. It’s a big match and there will be no margin for errors.”