Skipper Sunil Chhetri, playing his 150^th International, kept his date with history by giving the Blue Tigers the lead off a penalty kick in the 38^th minute in front of jam-packed stands at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati. The joy, however, was turned into complete misery when Rahmat Akbari’s shot deflected off a defender to find its way past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu in the 70^th minute for the equaliser, and then Sharif Mukhammad dealt the deathly blow by converting a penalty in the 88^th minute.

India, who drew the away match against Afghanistan goalless in Saudi Arabia, desperately needed full points from this encounter to keep alive their hopes of a long and arduous journey to the third round. But like it was in Abha, Saudi Arabia, the Indians did everything to stretch the rival defence time and again but fell short of converting them into goals. They did create a few chances, including a second-minute shot by Chhetri that hit the post before Manvir blew it over the bar, but faltered at crucial moments in the second half to leave the turf empty-handed.

India took the lead in the 38^th minute. Haroon Amiri, the captain and towering figure in the Afghanistan defence, made the cardinal mistake of handling the ball inside the box as he found the inviting cross from the right by Manvir Singh, added with a fast-approaching Sunil Chhetri, hard to negotiate with and the Saudi Arabian referee pointed to the spot without hesitation.

As the packed stands waited with bated breath, Chhetri stepped in to slam the ball into the right of the goalkeeper Ovays Azizi, with a low but confident shot. He seemed unaffected by the riotous celebrations in the stadium and the sheer delight displayed by his teammates and he walked back to his position calmly.

It was Chhetri’s 94^th international goal and the first after a seven-match drought. He now holds the unique record of scoring at least one goal in his first, 25^th, 50^th, 75^th, 100th, and 125^th matches. But in the end, this unique achievement took the back seat as India surrendered all the points on the pitch.

India: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Rahul Bheke, Anwar Ali, Subhasish Bose, Jeakson Singh (Vikram Partap Singh 85’), Nikhil Poojary, Manvir Singh, Brandon Fernandes (Anirudh Thapa 68’), Lalengmawia Ratle, Liston Colaco (Mahesh Singh Naorem 68’), Sunil Chhetri (Lallianzuala Chhangte 68’).

COURTESY :- AIFF Media Team.

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India took the lead via a 75th-minute own goal courtesy of Afghanistan goalkeeper Ovays Azizi, but the Afghans pulled back their equaliser minutes later, through their teenage sensation Hossein Zamani. A third-place finish in Group E means that India move directly to the third round of qualifiers for the AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

India head coach Igor Stimac made two changes to the side that started for the Blue Tigers against Bangladesh in the previous game, with Bipin Singh and Udanta Singh making way for Rahul Bheke and Ashique Kuruniyan.

The Blue Tigers got out off the blocks well right from kick-off as Manvir Singh soared up the right flank, made his way into the Afghanistan box and pulled the trigger. However, his shot was parried out for a corner by Afghan goalkeeper Ovays Azizi. The resulting corner by Brandon was cleared, but it fell kindly to Glan Martins on the edge of the area, whose shot was eventually blocked.

Afghanistan also attempted to create their chances in the opening exchanges as David Ahmed Najem found some space on the right and whipped in a few crosses, but India custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was alert to the danger and came out to collect.

India started to grow into the game soon enough and Manvir once again raced down the right and played it through to an overlapping Suresh Singh Wangjam, who earned a corner for the side. Sandesh Jhingan managed to get a firm header onto the Brandon corner but the effort was cleared off the line by Afghan defender Haroon Amiri.

Glan Martins was putting in a lot of hard work in the middle of the park as he managed to make a crucial interception in the attacking third, before passing it to Sunil Chhetri, whose shot was again saved by Azizi.

Brandon Fernandes was his usual self throughout the first 45 minutes, threading his passes to the attacking options again and again. A free-kick in the middle of the park around the 20th minute turned into a chance when Brandon chipped it towards Chhetri inside the box, but Masih Saighani was alert to the danger and cleared the ball.

Five minutes later, Ashique managed to beat Amiri down the left flank and dashed into the box, before attempting a grounded cutback aimed at Chhetri. Saighani was once again up to the task and intercepted the ball before any damage could be inflicted.

A little after the half-hour mark, Afghanistan made an inroad into the India half, as Omid Popalzay was played through down the right. But Blue Tigers centre-back Chinglensana Singh came across and bundled into the midfielder, picking up a yellow card for his efforts to stop the attack.

Afghanistan started building up a bit of momentum and earned another free-kick in the Indian third of the pitch, a few minutes later. Popalazay floated the ball in towards Amiri, but Jhingan was on hand to get in the way and avert the danger.

With a little under five minutes of regulation time of the first half left on the clock, Afghan forward Amir Sharifi manufactured some space outside the Indian penalty area and pulled the trigger. However, his left-footed effort was straight at Gurpreet, who smothered the ball comfortably.

At the stroke of the 45th minute, Suresh made a crucial interception in the middle of the park, to catch the Afghan defence off-guard. The young midfielder carried the ball to the edge of the Afghan area, before playing it through to Manvir. However, Afghan keeper Azizi came out bravely to foil the opportunity, as the referee soon blew his whistle to end the first half.

After the changeover, Afghanistan looked to string a few passes together in the Indian half but ended up giving away a chance to their opponents. Ashique intercepted a pass in the middle of the park and raced up the middle, looking to run at the Afghan defenders. He had options in the form of Chhetri on the left and Manvir on the right but was tackled by Amiri.

As India began to settle down in the second half, the Blue Tigers started to play the ball out of the back. A little under 10 minutes into the second half, one particular chance was created out of a string of passes that started all the way from the keeper.

Gurpreet found Suresh in the defensive half, as the latter played it to Bheke with his first touch. Under pressure, the fullback struck the ball down the line to put Manvir through on the right flank once again but the cross was stopped.

Minutes later, Gurpreet made a crucial save to keep the scores at 0-0. Saighani hooved a long ball to Popalzay, who chested it down and volleyed it from outside the area, but Gurpreet was up to the task, as he plucked the ball out of the air.

Amiri stood in India’s way once again on the hour mark, when he headed way a free-kick by Brandon, that was aimed at Manvir, who had shaken off his marker inside the box, and looked set for a free header.

A bit of dogged work in the opposition third by Ashique meant that the winger found some real estate just outside the Afghan penalty area, but Amiri soon came across and bundled him over, taking a yellow card to avert the immediate danger. Sunil Chhetri stood over the free-kick, as he curled it inches over the bar.

That was the last action of the day for the Blue Tigers captain, as Igor Stimac brought on Liston Colaco in place of the 36-year-old. Meanwhile, Lalengmawia Ralte (Apuia) also came on for Brandon Fernandes.

India’s perseverance finally paid off in the 75th minute, when Ashique and Manvir worked some space on the left flank, as the former had the time and space to send in a measured cross towards Liston inside the box. Afghan keeper Azizi fumbled the ball while collecting it, and turned it into his own net.

India thought they had their second goal a few minutes later, when Ashique again weaved his way into the box and sent in a cross, for Liston, who turned it in. However, the referee had already blown his whistle, as he had adjudged Ashique to have carried the ball over the goalline. That was Ashique’s last action of the night, as he was replaced by Bipin Singh.

Afghanistan soon went on the attack, looking for the equaliser, and found it through their teenage sensation Hossein Zamani, who came on in the second half. Receiving a cut-back from Noor Husin, Zamani curled a right-footer into the Indian goal, off the far post.

Manvir had a chance late in the second half, when he got his head onto a ball whipped in from the left by Subhasish, but his header went over the crossbar. Both the sides had a few last exchanges in added time, but the clock soon ran down, as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

India XI: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK); Rahul Bheke, Chinglensana Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose; Glan Martins, Brandon Fernandes (Lalengmawia Ralte 62’), Suresh Singh Wangjam; Manvir Singh, Sunil Chhetri (C) (Liston Colaco 69’), Ashique Kuruniyan (Bipin Singh 81’).

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The day also marks a momentous occasion for Sunil Chhetri, as he has the opportunity to be a part of the all-time top 10 scorers’ list.

Sunil, who scored a brace and cruised India to a comfortable win against Bangladesh in the previous encounter, currently ranks second in the list of active goalscorers’ in international football. The 36-year-old will try adding to his tally of 74 goals in Doha and become a part of the all-time top 10 goalscorers’ list today.

DATE: 15/06/2021

TIME: 7:30 PM (IST)

VENUE: Jassam Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha

TV BROADCAST: Star Sports Channels, Hotstar, Jio TV

PROBABLE XI:

India – Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Pritam Kotal, Sandesh Jhingan, Chinglesana Singh, Akash Mishra, Ashique Kuruniyan, Sahal Abdul Samad, Glan Martins, Brandon Fernandes, Manvir Singh, Sunil Chettri.

Afghanistan – Ovays Azizi, Masih Saighani, David Najem, Haroon Fakhrudin, Noor Husin, Faysal Shayesteh, Milad Intezar, Omran Haydary, Omid Popalzay, Amredin Sharifi.

HEAD TO HEAD: 

9 games – India won 6 times – 2 draws – Afghanistan won 1 time

Latest game- 2022 World Cup Qualifiers- India 1-1 Afghanistan [14th November 2019]

KEY ASPECTS TO LOOK OUT FOR: 

• Arguably the most crucial match in the qualifiers for both teams, as qualification for the Asian Cup is on the line.
• India is coming into the match from a comfortable 2-0 win over Bangladesh, whereas Afghanistan lost their last match 1-2 against Oman. 
• Igor Stimac will look for a similar strategy which he used against Bangladesh. India will not sit back and should focus more on attacking. 
• Afghanistan can impose threats for India from their deadly counter-attacks. Hence, Indian defence needs to stay robust and make matters fall in place.  

AUTHOR’S TAKE: 

Going by previous records and the current form, India is well-versed to oust Afghanistan, currently ranked 149th in the FIFA Rankings. The focus shall remain on Captain Chhetri, accompanied by his young and determined counterparts in scripting a victory, which seems likely.

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