Mr. India: Sunil Chhetri’s hat-trick in SAFF Championship sees off Pakistan in style as India begin with a bang

Bengaluru, June 21

Sunil Chhetri’s glittering hat-trick laced India’s 4-0 win over Pakistan in their SAFF Championship opener here today as the talisman became the second-highest Asian goalscorer in international football.

Ali Daei of Iran holds the record with 109 goals from 149 matches. Chhetri has 90 goals to his name.

90 With 90 goals to his name, Chhetri is now the second-highest Asian goalscorer in international football. Ali Daei of Iran holds the record with 109 goals from 149 matches

From the beginning of the match itself, India brought forth their experience and class into play. Pakistan had pockets of doughty resistance, but they were not a match to India’s cohesion and purpose on a rain-drenched night at the Kanteerava Stadium.

Happy to start the tournament with a clean sheet. Matches in these conditions are never easy. Happy that people turned up, this is amazing, this is what we play for. Sunil Chhetri, India captain

Chhetri had shown sparks of his old ebullient self in the Intercontinental Cup final against Lebanon at Bhubaneswar on Sunday, and the Indian skipper stepped on the pedal on his ‘home turf’.

After getting a quick feel of the surface and their opponents, India started the goal rush as early as in the 10th minute through Chhetri, who pounced on a howler from the Pakistan goalkeeper.

Six minutes later, Chhetri doubled the lead from the penalty spot. India pressed for more goals in the first half, but they could not add to the tally as Pakistan’s defence held their own. India missed a couple of chances, though not easy, to pile pressure on their rivals.

However, the first half ended in a rather disappointing note for India. An unnecessary attempt to impede a Pakistan player from taking a throw-in by coach Igor Stimac resulted in the Croatian being shown the red card.

But that did not snap India’s momentum in the second half. The hosts pressed forward like a giant wave in search of more goals. The big moment came in the 74th minute when Pakistan’s defenders brought down Chhetri inside the box and the Indian skipper converted the resulting penalty to complete his hat-trick.

Udanta Singh completed the rout with a goal in the 81st minute. Udanta latched onto a through pass from Sandesh Jhingan before slotting the ball past the Pakistan goalkeeper. India’s performance thrilled the 22,860-strong crowd that thronged the stadium despite the heavy downpour. “Happy to start the tournament with a clean sheet,” Chhetri said. “Matches in these conditions are never easy. Happy that people turned up, this is amazing, this is what we play for,” he added. India will next face Nepal, who lost 1-3 to Kuwait earlier, in their second Group A match on Saturday. PTI

Pakistan reach six hours before kick-off

Benagluru: It was not the build-up that the Pakistan football team would have anticipated ahead of its SAFF Championship opener against India. More than half of the side arrived here only six hours ahead of the tie today due to unavailability of tickets on a single flight. The bizarre chain of events was set off after the Pakistan team arrived in Mumbai from Mauritius at 1am on Wednesday. The group, comprising 32 members of the team and support staff, could not find seats in a single aircraft and was forced to split into two groups. The first set boarded a 4am flight, but the second lot took a 9.15am flight due to some issues pertaining to immigration clearance at the Mumbai airport. The second batch reached the team hotel close to the Kanteerava Stadium after 1pm, with the kick-off scheduled for 7:30pm.