The reigning champions, the New Zealand All Stars, were unable to secure a victory, settling for a goalless draw against Melbourne in their opening match of the Rams Group of Companies 10th Sanatan World Cup in Sydney.
Despite featuring star players such as Andrew Naicker, Aeron Singh, Sumeet Shankaran, and Sharavan Sharma, the Kiwis struggled to find the back of the net. They maintained possession and applied considerable pressure throughout the match but could not convert those opportunities into goals.
In other matches earlier today, Queensland and Wellington ended in a 1-1 tie, NZ Sanatan defeated Canberra 4-1, Lomawai and Waitakere also played to a 0-0 draw, and Nadi ended up in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Wellington City.