FIH Pro League 2020: India's speed, accuracy too hot to handle for Dutch as hosts canter to memorable win

Aggressive, innovative and using speed as a weapon, India turned Holland inside out to register a 5-2 victory that made India’s debut in the Pro League that much sweeter. [caption id=“attachment_7926191” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The Indian men’s hockey team made a dream debut at the FIH Pro League, beating world number three Netherlands 5-2. Image Courtesy: Hockey India[/caption] The clock was stopped at 14.47 in the 1st quarter; 13 seconds into the match when the Dutch were caught sleeping on the half line and couldn’t clear twice before the duo of Gurjant Singh and Mandeep Singh wove in and Gurjant with a clear line of sight, smashed the ball into the Dutch goal. It was India’s fastest goal in an international match. Holland looked shocked. The Dutch tried both the flanks to gain some control. But the balls thrown into the Indian circle were cut off efficiently. On one such move, Rupinder picked up the ball around the half line and sent Lalit Upadhyay through who while cutting into the Dutch circle ensured the ball hit a defender’s leg. India had their first PC and Rupinder flicked hard, the rising ball clipping the Dutch runner’s stick, going the other way as the goalkeeper was caught on the wrong foot. At 2-0, India soared. Two minutes later, Billy Bakker showed the actual meaning of the word intent. He worked his way on the right flank, shielding the ball all the way before giving it to Thierry Brinkman whose goal-bound shot was stopped but not before conceding the penalty corner. Jip Janssen was on target, the flick beating Krishan Pathak. At 1-2, Holland were crawling their way back into the match. The first quarter was an indicator of what was coming in the remaining three. India, in the first quarter, had five shots on goal to Holland’s one. But it is the pass accuracy that would create all the moves and put the pressure on the World Cup silver medallists. India, usually, have their share of forced and unforced errors. But to their credit, not much was given away. Even the second quarter, Holland’s best play in the match, was defended well by India. It was in the 2nd quarter that the Dutch gave a display that was reminiscent of the 2018 World Cup quarter-final against India. Solid midfield play with exemplary ball rotation meant the Dutch enjoyed a possession of 66 percent to India’s 34 percent. They had 14 circle entries to India’s one and four PCs to India’s none. But, the Indian defence held back and took on the punches. Mirco Pruijser was a battering ram, pure physical presence, his brute force powered him past 3-4 defenders with ease. Two minutes before the break, a beautiful move by Bob de Voogd down the left flank and a ball release timed to perfection saw Jeroen Hertzberger deflect the pass in. At 2-2, it seemed the Dutch would raise their level a notch. After continually defending for almost ten minutes, the end of the 2nd quarter must have come as a much-needed relief, one boxer pummelling the other and the bell saving him. India started off the 3rd Q with both feet on the pedal. SV Sunil saw a shot cannon into the Dutch goalkeeper’s pads. The Dutch picked up the rebound and threw it upfield into Indian territory where Harmanpreet caught it and passed to Manpreet. The Indian captain moved in 5-6 metres into the Dutch half and sent a brilliant pass to Mandeep, a little deep into the Dutch striking circle. Mandeep trapped, zipped into the circle, went wide a bit and unleashed an angular shot that zipped into the Dutch goal. It was 3-2. The Dutch were reeling. Speed was king as the Indians sped in and out with ease. The stick work was fabulous with perfect passes and errors minimised to an extent where India exerted control on the Dutch. India had 12 circle entries to Holland’s six with five shots on goal to Holland’s one. Gurjant had a wonderful chance to slot in his second goal but after a great move between Chinglensana and Akashdeep, delayed on the ball before the Dutch defence moved into clear. In the 36th minute of the 3rd Q, Harmanpreet moved up, slipped onto the flanks, moved into the circle and passed to Lalit who deflected in the ball for a 4-2 lead. Holland had to do something urgently as the match was slipping away. They fell back to what they know best – move, rotate and hold possession. But the Indian team had probably learnt their lessons from the WC quarter-final defeat. They refused to yield space, moved up constantly to cut the moves and sprinted hard. Holland didn’t take the risk of moving up, knowing fully well that India’s skill quotient combined with speed would kill them. By the end of the 3rd Q, Holland had 7 PC’s to India’s 5. In the 4th quarter, Holland needed to pull back a goal to put the pressure on India. If possession was almost equal, one area where India scored was the pass accuracy of almost 60 percent. Balls were not wasted. India moved the midfield and played the flank. The trio of Rupinder, Harmanpreet and Lakra at the back maintained the structure. If Harmanpreet went up, Chinglensana fell back. In the 46th minute, India had their 5th PC and Rupinder fired it in. Leading 5-2, it would need a miracle, super-human effort from the Dutch to try and knock back the goals. India earned two more PCs while Holland got their 8th. The Dutch captain Billy Bakker said: “I think we have to focus on our own game. We played one quarter from the four quarters pretty good, that was the second one. The other three we didn’t get the level that we wanted to get. With a team like India, it’s really tough to win here, so I think they deserved it.” If everything went to plan for India, it was also a day when six out of six referrals were called correctly by the Indians. The last time, India had beaten Holland 5-2 in a tournament was at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics when both teams met to decide the 5th/6th playoff. After that in a two-match series which was played in 1994 in New Delhi, India had beaten Holland 5-1 and drawn the second match 1-1. Holland were on their way to Lahore to play in the 1994 Champions Trophy. With less than 24 hours to recover and play the second match of the double header, the Dutch will hit back with a vengeance. India, on the other hand, having made a brilliant Pro League debut, should try and make it two out of two. Consistency is something they need to strive for.