New Zealand rounded off their pool play with a 3-3 draw against India at the World League semifinal tournament in Rotterdam today.
It needed a Blair Hilton goal with a fierce reverse stick shot four minutes from the end to get the Black Sticks a share of the points.
The game was attacker Phil Burrows' 300th international, making him the first New Zealander to reach the milestone.
"Today was pretty special for me," Burrows said.
"The guys all dug deep and fought hard.
"It was a bit of a shame I couldn't get a goal today, but at the end of the day we achieved what we needed to."
The result ensures a top two finish in the group for New Zealand.
Marcus Child had given New Zealand a halftime lead, but the 11th-ranked Indians took the lead with a brace of goals soon after the restart from Mandeep Singh from open play and VR Ragunath from a low flick at a penalty corner.
Stephen Jenness got the Black Sticks level before Kothajit Singh Khadangbam regained the initiative for India.
New Zealand captain Dean Couzins had a penalty stroke saved before Hilton's late goal.
"It was a fluctuating game and India tried to stretch us with their speed but we did our best to restrict that for most of the game," coach Colin Batch said.
"Our biggest growth continues to be on attack, and at this tournament all our strikers have really stepped up."
The draw followed a 3-3 draw against hosts the Netherlands and a 4-2 win over Ireland.
World No 6 New Zealand's opponents in their crossover semifinal will be determined later this morning, but are likely to be world No 7 Spain.
The top three teams at the tournament are guaranteed spots at the finals in Delhi in January.
- David Leggat of the NZ Herald
