It would not be an exaggeration to suggest India gave Argentina a taste of their own medicine on day two of the Champions Trophy in Breda, Netherlands on Sunday in the course of a 2-1 win.
The Indians showed virtues of defensive organisation, individual brilliance and smart reading of the game that the reigning Olympic champions have used to good effect lately. Harmanpreet Singh and Mandeep Singh got them the goals, but the way they got there suggests coach Harendra Singh's men have a good chance of matching, perhaps even bettering, their previous tournament-best runners-up finish from 2016.
Sardar brings his experience into play
Without compromising on their natural flair for attack, India showed discipline and structure, something that had stood them in good stead in the 4-0 win against Pakistan on June 23 as well.
Against the talented Argentina forward line, India maintained three defenders at the back, were quick to heavily mark dangerous players like Lucas Vila, Matias Paredes and Ignacio Ortiz, and smartly worked the Argentine forwards wide when faced with one-on-one situations. PR Sreejesh had a good game in goal, especially during a busy first half, but credit must also go to Sardar Singh, playing his 300th game for India. Sardar slotted into a deep-lying midfielder's role, and used his experience to read the play and intercept passes and initiate counters.
Sunil pulls the strings on the wings
With the Indian defence doing its job, it allowed the attacking players to get into the game with more imagination. SV Sunil played a key role in that, especially when offered width by the Argentina team as they retreated. With his pace and skills, he ran rings around the wide players, and executed delightful one-two plays with Mandeep Singh.
Sunil would play his role in defence as well, especially as Argentina came firing in the second half, having just pulled one back through a Gonzalo Peillat penalty corner (PC) late in the first half to bring the deficit down to 2-1. India's composure when pressed was largely down to the short passes players like Sunil, Sardar and the teenaged Vivek Prasad were able to play to get the ball away from India's goal.
Late in the match, India had two cards that could have caused problems but for the forwards helping out in defence, with Surender Kumar and Birendra Lakra picking up a green card and a yellow card each. With Argentina pushing up, they not only resisted effectively but even created a scoring opportunity for Sunil just before the end of the game, though he pulled his shot wide after drawing goalkeeper Tomas Santiago out from his position.
Dilpreet steals the show
In the two games played thus far, India's biggest breakout star has been forward Dilpreet Singh, who is showing an ability to read the game well beyond his 18 years of age.
Against Pakistan, he picked up a through ball and showed great poaching instincts in wrong-footing their experienced goalkeeper Imran Butt before slotting the ball past him to take India 2-0 ahead in the 54th minute. In response, Pakistan pulled their goalkeeper off and kept a kicking full-back, that allowed Mandeep and Lalit Upadhyay to score with just three minutes to go.
On Sunday, Dilpreet received a high ball that uncharacteristically went through the Argentine defence. He composed himself, drew the goalkeeper towards him and then sent a low ball across the face of the goal with an inverted stick, allowing Mandeep to lunge forward and tap India into a 2-0 lead.
It was an emphatic win in the end -- even conceding the Peillat PC conversion, an almost identical goal to the one in the World League Final semi-final against India, where he had gone across the face of Akash Chikte's goal by moving the point of release to his left.
India had Harmanpreet pull off a cheeky PC goal, too, waiting for the last minute to release his drag flick and going straight and low between Santiago's legs. India have started life under Harendra with confidence, intelligence and a definite game plan of how they wish to play. All of that will get tested against champions Australia on June 27, but you get the impression they will be well prepared for it.