AFC Asian Cup: What happened when India met Australia first and last time

India's Blue Tigers are all set for their second consecutive AFC Asian Cup campaign in Doha, Qatar, with their opening clash scheduled against mighty Australia, the former champions, on January 13 at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium.

But Australia are no unfamiliar opponents for India. This will not be the first time that India will play Australia in the AFC Asian Cup, with the two sides facing off each other during the 2011 edition in Qatar. This will in fact be India's third meeting against Australia since independence.

Ahead of Saturday's much-anticipated clash, The Bridge takes a look at how India performed in their first and last meeting with Australia.

India vs Australia - December 1, 1956

Things were different back in 1956. India, as an independent country, were no pushover.

In their first meeting, independent India took on host Australia at the Olympic Park in Melbourne on December 1.

The Indian team, coached by legendary Syed Abdul Rahim, destroyed the Australians 4-2, with Neville D'Souza becoming the first Asian footballer to score a hat-trick at a multilateral event.

This victory is a significant milestone in Indian football since India, who had conceded ten goals against Yugoslavia in the 1952 Olympics, played the match wearing boots, for the first time at a marquee event.

Despite being unfamiliar with boots, the team put up a remarkable show to catch the Asian football fraternity by surprise.

D'Souza was reportedly hackled by the Aussies before the match during the Indian team's day out before the match. Hence, his sterling performance in the match surprised everyone. J. Krishnaswamy scored the remaining goal.

Bruce Morrow scored the two goals for Australia.

Though India lost to Bulgaria in the bronze medal match, this win against Australia remained Indian football's one of the most remarkable victories.

India vs Australia - January 10, 2011

The last time India played Australia was on January 10, 2011. Like this Asian Cup, India was up against Australia in their opening game of the tournament.

Placed in Group C, India lost 0-4 against the Socceroos, courtesy of a Tim Cahill brace, along with goals from Harry Kewell and Brett Holman, at the Al Sadd Stadium.

It was not a surprising result, given the sea of gap in quality between the two sides.

Even though India had received the most cheerful support, with 13000 fans cheering the Blue Tigers, they could not breach the Australian defence led by Lucas Neill and goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer.

The former Everton forward Cahill and former Liverpool winger Kewell hammered the Indian aspiration in the tournament.

However, the match is still vividly remembered for the performance by Indian custodian Subrata Paul, who had a busy day under the bar, making some stunning saves, flying and diving. He was nicknamed the ‘Spiderman' following this performance.