ROURKELA: As far as opening nights go, this was the perfect execution of plans coming to fruition. Couple of good goals? Check. An impudent piece of skill that will end up on various social media channels with jarring background music. Check. A complete team performance? Check. Clean sheet (India haven't had many of those in recent times)? Check. A sold-out crowd experiencing the high-end sport for the first time ever and going back home with smiles plastered on their faces. Check. The final scoreline was close by the sport's standards — 2-0 — but it was over as a contest long before the final hooter cut through the air. The performance was a masterclass in efficiency, taking opportunities and never relinquishing control after an iffy first couple of minutes.
By the time coach Graham Reid and captain Harmanpreet Singh were done with their post-match press obligations, both of them had big smiles on their faces. They were even in the mood to joke with the media. Harmanpreet was in such a relaxed state of mind he even mocked himself for missing a penalty stroke.
What pleased Reid the most was the defensive aspect of India's showing. "This is probably our best defensive effort since Tokyo," he said after the game. "We had good energy, tone and work-rate and those are three very important objectives for us."
That's true and it's not just because of the clean sheet. Spain are known for their flair, their dribblers like to tease the press before releasing runners. They also like pacy transitions. India cut out their oxygen at source and Spain never really recovered. Their coach Max Caldas admitted as much. "India deservedly won the game," he said. "We weren't at that standard."
Speaking of standards, since Tokyo, India's standards have dipped slightly. Indiscipline has crept into the game and defenders haven't always covered themselves in glory. They course-corrected and that was the base for a morale-boosting three points before Wales on Saturday night.
Reid attributed the course-correction to a few things they had been working on in the camp. One of the big things they had worked on in Bengaluru was playing with 10 players rather than 11. While all teams do this as part of their process, when you repeatedly keep doing this over a long period of time, it helps the team in match situations. India did pick up a card against Spain but that indiscipline didn't cost them.
They also conceded a few penalty corners (three to be exact) but returned with a shut-out thanks mainly to Krishan Pathak, the only player who returned without a medal from Tokyo among the touring party (he was an unused reserve player). While the Australian conceded that it was a 'bit brave' to keep the team's policy of rotating goalkeepers (some teams have a designated No. 1 while India have a policy of giving both keepers two quarters each) going, he was happy with the outcome.
"It's the way we have been playing," he said. "Both have been playing fantastically well. Both push each other. I like both of them to be live options because if something happens to one of them... it was a bit brave today but they are used to it. Lot of positives."
Apart from Pathak who pulled off a couple of really good saves in dead ball situations, the other big positive was the way the midfield controlled the game. With more than half the game gone, India had almost 80% of the ball. They had no trouble in keeping the ball and created multiple chances down Spain's left, especially in the first 30 minutes.
It was no surprise they used this wing to build pressure and it told as they won the first penalty corner of the match after attacks down the right. From one of those corners, Amit Rohidas found the top corner after a goalbound Harmanpreet Singh effort was intercepted by a Spanish stick.
Fourteen minutes later, the hosts got the lead their play deserved. And it came via Hardik Singh, who has quietly grown into the role as a midfield lynchpin of the side. After receiving the ball in the left half-space, he drove at the Spanish defence. When they decided to engage him, he dodged his way out of traffic with relative ease. The skill brought out an audible gasp from the crowd.
Inside the D, Hardik, who scored a similar goal at the Olympics, concentrated on squaring the ball rather than going for goal from a narrow angle. But his attempted pass was turned goalwards by a Spain stick. After the match, he admitted 'I had decided on passing the ball to the penalty spot'.
At 2-0, it was a matter of avoiding silly mistakes and not allowing the opposition a way into the encounter. While Spain did have some chances to halve the deficit in the fourth quarter, the Men In Blue remained solid and saw the game out.Now, the challenge is to do it again in two nights' time.