K. ARUMUGAM
Playing the first match of the FIH Pro League double headers in Argentina, India burst a few stereotypes. For a change, they scored mere seconds from the final hooter to avoid defeat instead of conceding and losing. They also scored while a player sat out a yellow card on both occasions instead of conceding. The end result: India salvaged a point with a 2-2 draw and added a bonus point from the shootout.
They carried their grit and gumption to the second match the next day. Braving early Argentine assaults, India grabbed the match by the scruff to win 3-0 and aggregate five points from a possible six from the double header.
Captain Manpreet Singh, however, tempered euphoria arising from a tour on which, besides the spoils of the FIH Pro League double headers, his team won two, drew one and lost only one practice game.
He spoke of sustaining momentum, reviewing performance and putting grey areas under the microscope.
India won the first practice match 4-3, drew the second 4-4. They then played the FIH Pro League double headers. Argentina won the third practice game 1-0 but India ended the tour in style, winning the fourth and final game 4-2.
The brownie points and bragging rights from beating the Olympic champions are immense. More so India and Argentina find themselves in Pool A at the Tokyo Olympics. The Argentines, however, are not likely to loosen their grip on the gold medal too easily and Tokyo may be a totally different proposition. Here in Buenos Aires, Argentina spent a year without playing an international match, were rusty and then apparently fatigued by playing six in 10 days.
This, however, is not to detract from a bright Indian performance. The team have shown the propensity to score. Drag flicker Harmanpreet has been in fine fettle, scoring a brace in the first FIH Pro League encounter and adding another in the second match.
His prowess at the set piece got the better of the Argentine double-block runners and the strudy defender’s expertise at the drag-flick, one wagers, will be the key at the Tokyo Olympics in July-August.
Sreejesh and goalie Krishan Pathak: The duo has every reason to smile as they outperformed their rivals
But another aspect of the Buenos Aires success has been goalkeeping by the veteran Sreejesh and his able deputy Krishan Pathak. Sreejesh’s heroics in the shootout is something we’ve grown to expect while the youngster Pathak’s plucky show in the second match duly brought him the player of the match award. Comprehensive may have been victory in the second match but it could have been different had Pathak not shown courage and enterprise in denying Martin Ferreiro twice in the first quarter.
Head coach Graham Reid’s methods, one discerns, are fetching results. The team has galvanized itself on several occasions when the tide has been unfavourable. Possession has been impressive on tour. The second goal in the second match went the length and breadth of the pitch, involved more than a dozen passes, and ended with Lalit Upadhyay slotting home after goalkeeper Juan Vivaldi saved.
It displayed the team’s ability to control play with crisp, short passes. But like Reid pointed out, such confidence and control should be presented in all four quarters. In other words, consistency ought to be the watchword and Manpreet echoed the Australian’s prescription in post-match comments.
Sterner tests lie ahead. Great Britain and Spain lie in wait as India play their FIH Pro League matches there in May. Slipping from fourth to fifth position in both the FIH Pro League table as well as world rankings despite creditable performances, India will well know it’s tough in the higher echelons of world hockey.