The Indian football team has started with a win in the SAFF Championship. They thrashed arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 on Wednesday (June 21) at the Srikanteerava Stadium in Bangalore. Captain Sunil Chhetri was the hero of this match for India. He performed brilliantly and rained goals on Pakistan. Chhetri scored a hat trick. Apart from him, Udanta Singh scored a goal.
The Indian team kept the pressure on Pakistan from the very beginning. He scored two goals in the first half itself. Indian captain Sunil Chhetri scored the first goal in the 10th minute. After this, he scored the second goal on a penalty in the 16th minute. At halftime, the score remained 2-0 in favor of India. Team India did not stop at this. He kept the pressure on from the very beginning in the second half and took the Pakistani players by surprise. Chhetri did not miss the penalty in the 74th minute. He completed his hat trick by scoring another goal. After Chhetri, Udanta Singh scored a goal in the 81st minute to make it 4-0.
Chhetri scored the first goal due to the goalkeeper's mistake
The Pakistan team may not have got a chance to adjust to the conditions in Bengaluru, but they got a big chance to score in the fourth minute of the game. Isa Suleiman's header went just wide of the goalpost. After this, the Indian team dominated and scored the first goal in the 10th minute of the game. This goal was gifted to India by Pakistan's goalkeeper Saqib Hanif. Hanif was dribbling the ball from inside the box. Sunil Chhetri came forward, snatched the ball from him, and put the ball in the empty goal. Six minutes later, Thapa took a shot at goal and the ball hit the hand of the Pakistani keeper. The referee gave a penalty on this. Chhetri took the lead to 2-0 by scoring a goal here as well.
India's ranking best in the tournament
The eight teams participating in the 14th edition of the SAFF Championship have been divided into two groups. Group A also has Kuwait, Nepal, and Pakistan teams along with India. Whereas, Group B has Lebanon, Maldives, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. The Indian team, led by Sunil Chhetri, is FIFA's best-ranked team in this tournament. Team India is ranked 101st in the FIFA rankings. At the same time, Pakistan has the worst ranking among the teams playing in this tournament. Pakistan is ranked 195th in the FIFA rankings.
brawl in the match
In the match, Pakistani players were not able to cope with the pressure, meanwhile, they lost their temper and started arguing with Indian coach Igor Stimac. When the ball went to the Indian coach, he was trying to get it away from the Pakistani player. Meanwhile, Abdullah Iqbal of Pakistan lost his temper and started arguing with Stimac. Seeing this, many Pakistani players surrounded Stimac. Not only this, but Pakistan's head coach Shahzad Anwar also started arguing with the Indian coach.
Why did Indian coach Stimac get angry?
Taking a tough decision, the referee showed Indian coach Stimac a red card and threw him out of the match. Stimac was disappointed with the decision to give the throw to the Pakistani team. They felt that right back Pritam Kotal was fouled. Along with Stimac, the Pakistan coach was also punished. He was shown the yellow card. This was his last warning.
The entire Pakistan team arrived six hours before the match
The entire Pakistan team could reach Bangalore six hours before the match against India. The 32-member Pakistan team was supposed to come to Bengaluru from Mauritius via Mumbai, but due to the non-availability of tickets, the team had to come in separate batches. The first batch left Mumbai for Bengaluru at 4 am on Wednesday, while the second batch caught the flight at 9.15 am. The second batch reached the team hotel at 1 pm, about six hours before the match. However, the organizers have made it clear that the match will not be pushed ahead and will be held on time.
Kuwait beat Nepal 3-1 in the opening match
Kuwait defeated Nepal 3-1 in the inaugural match of the SAFF Championship. Captain Khalid Hajiah scored the first goal in the 23rd minute for Kuwait, playing for the first time in this championship. In the 42nd minute, Shabayb Alkhaldi increased Kuwait's lead to 2-0. In the 65th minute, Rohit Chand touched the ball with his hand inside the box. The referee awarded a penalty to Kuwait, which was converted by Mohammad Abdullah. Four minutes later, Nepal's Anjan Bisht scored a goal to make it 3-1.
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