BHUBANESWAR: It was 8.20 pm when the school students began to leave the Kalinga Stadium. They formed an orderly queue before being shepherded by their teachers. Their team had just scored a thrilling third goal when their marching orders came. The stadium was soon down to approximately 25% capacity. If only the kids, a majority of whom were there to fill out the seats, were allowed to sit through the entirety of the match; they would have witnessed an Indian team compose haiku with hockey sticks.
By the time the hooter sounded, the electronic scoreboard said: “India 5:2 Netherlands”. And, no, this is not a misprint. Since making Bhubaneswar the unofficial home for the country’s national sport in 2017, the Men In Blue have oscillated between the sublime and the ridiculous. On Saturday, they showed what they are capable of in a thrilling 60-minute exhibition of pace, press and clinical finishing. They were so good that there wasn’t even a single mis-trap, so unlike an Indian team in recent times.
At times it seemed like an illusion; the hosts, playing in their first-ever Pro League encounter, looked to be playing in Netherlands Orange while the visitors, runners- up in the first edition, seemed to be in Indian blue. That illusion began in the very first seconds — after pushback, Mandeep Singh pressed like his life depended on it and stole the ball in midfield. After exchanging passes with Gurjant Singh, he laid it on a plate for the latter to finish from close. For a team so accustomed to conceding goals in this fashion, it was refreshing to see them dish out the same treatment.
That goal was also a microcosm of what happened in three of the four quarters. India are a team that like to press but more often than not, it is uncoordinated. Against the World Cup runners-up, that wasn’t the case. The forwards hunted as a trio, midfielders were in sync whenever they moved towards the ball and the defenders were positionally sound. It was telling that a majority of the goals came within seconds of pinching the ball from the opposition.
Mandeep’s goal — which proved to be the winner four minutes into the third quarter — was a case in point. A long Dutch clearance could have set Jeroen Hertzberger one-on-one with the Indian custodian but an Indian stick intercepted the pass. Less than 20 seconds later, Mandeep was wheeling away in delight.
A quick transition saw Manpreet Singh, who had one of his best games in recent times, receive the ball with plenty of free space in front of him. After dribbling, his pass found Mandeep, who shot low into the bottom corner. An example of pace, control and precision over a 20 second period that spoke volumes of the work they did off-season. Two minutes later, the World No 5 once again came forward in droves. Their passes bisected the Dutch team and Lalit Upadhyay deflected from close range. The icing on the cake came a minute into the fourth quarter, with Rupinderpal Singh scoring his second from the penalty corner.