Harmanpreet Singh is never in a rush; it doesn’t matter if India are chasing the game or running away with it. He moves at 0.75x speed in a sport that moves at 1.25x. Eyes darting in all directions, shepherding the ball with slow, small steps and minimalistic movements. In a fast-moving sport, he doesn’t mind an occasional pause.
It is by design.
In reality, he’s more of a quarterback disguised as a sweeper. Casually catapulting 60-yard passes to the forwards, bypassing the midfield and launching India’s attacks.
Like he did to set up India’s first goal against China in a virtual Asia Cup semifinal. The match was only four minutes old when Harmanpreet stood a couple of metres from the half line inside India’s half, caressing the ball while scanning his options. Then, in a sudden burst, he hurled an aerial crossfield ball that cut across the balmy Rajgir air and landed bang on the stick of Jarmanpreet Singh, who stood near the right flank baseline — the line along the goalpost — near the Chinese D. Jarmanpreet controlled it with one smooth touch, squared it in front of goal where Shilanand Lakra was there to tap it in.
It opened the floodgates as India produced a rare nerveless performance to thrash an ambitious China 7-0 and qualify for Sunday’s final, where they will face the only team that has stopped them from winning, South Korea. The Koreans, earlier in the evening, staged a stunning last-quarter comeback to beat Malaysia 4-3.
Chef’s kiss
India had six different goal scorers on Saturday. Harmanpreet wasn’t one of them. But his silent contributions were more critical.
Harmanpreet doesn’t possess the speed of Manpreet Singh, the skill of Hardik Singh or the supple wrists that Lalit Upadhyay, the recently-retired forward, had. Harmanpreet the defender is like a rock. His outletting — the act of spreading the ball from the back — is a chef’s kiss.
“It’s about experience, right?” India coach Craig Fulton remarked. “When teams play a certain way, it opens them up.”
On Saturday night, the India captain made the dark blue sky his canvas as he sprayed incredible aerial balls to cause havoc in the Chinese defence. When the defenders were too close to the forwards, thus not giving Harmanpreet enough space to play a lobbed pass, he would drill in powerful grounded diagonal passes that would be tough to intercept.
The process of it is even more gripping. When India had the ball in the left flank, in their half, Harmanpreet would trot to the opposite side, signal the wing backs to make overlapping runs and wait for the ball to come at him. He’d then scan his options and either lift the ball or slap it — depending on the space — and invariably got the pace, distance and accuracy right.
“It’s all through eye contact,” says Abhishek, one of the many beneficiaries of Harmanpreet’s vision. “Harman of course has years of experience, so he reads the patterns very quickly. When he gets the ball, either he’ll tell us forwards to run into an open space, or we will tell him to pass at a particular spot.”
None of them are spoken words. A split-second look at one another is all that’s needed.
Baseline attacks
Harmanpreet’s strength to make such long passes all night long has helped India build additional dimensions to their game. The aerial passes help the team to balance its counter-attacking instincts. At the same time, it allows the players to launch baseline attacks.
It’s a tactic India have employed frequently post-Paris Olympics. In their analysis of the matches, India’s coaching staff noticed the increasing trend of teams playing a low defensive block against India, much like the opponents they have encountered at the Asia Cup.
It meant the forwards had to rely on a different skill than just being able to turn from the top of the D and shoot. They had to get more ruthless inside the nine-yard zone from the goal to the penalty spot. The most efficient way of entering that zone has been to run behind the defences and attack from the baseline.
Harmanpreet’s ability to nullify the midfield and the defence lines with his slap hits and aerials have given India some success in this. “When teams defend really well in that middle zone, then it’s difficult to break down. But when you are clinical, then everything is open,” Fulton said.
Saturday was one such occasion when every move India made worked. And a lot of it went through — or started with — Harmanpreet.
Whenever he had the ball, Indian attackers rushed to the baseline, anticipating a long pass. With China packing the circle with defenders, India tried to go around the back line time and again. More than half of the circle entries and three out of the seven goals came from the attacks emanating from the baseline.
Entering from the baseline gives the attacker a two-pronged advantage in a one-on-one situation inside the D. One, he gets the complete view of the circle that helps in scanning the position of his teammates. And two, the defender — who has his back to the goal — is on his backhand, which is a position of disadvantage.
“So I can either pass the ball square, cut back or find a foot. Entering from the baseline helps us open up with multiple options,” Jarmanpreet Singh, the right-back who makes endless runs up and down the wing, says.
The baseline attacks help them set up attacks from the nine-yard zone between the penalty spot and goal. “It’s one of the set-ups we have been working on. When we enter the 9 yards from the baseline, it gives us more open chances to score a goal,” Jarmanpreet adds. “And if we don’t get a clear shot, then we try to earn a penalty corner.”
Which is when Harmanpreet steps up for the headline acts with his cannonball-like drag-flicks. Beyond the glamour of goals, it’s his long, cross-field balls that are proving to be equally lethal.
India had six different goal scorers on Saturday. Harmanpreet wasn’t one of them. But his silent contributions were more critical. (Hockey India) 
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