GUWAHATI: India may have lost the FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Afghanistan in Guwahati, but with a 37th-minute penalty kick on Tuesday, Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri added yet another feather into his already illustrious hat.
By scoring in his 150th international match at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, the Blue Tigers’ Number 11 became the first player in Indian football to score in his first, 25th, 50th, 75th, 100th, 125th and 150th international matches.
India began the match on front-foot with Chhetri coming close to breaking the deadlock as early as 3 minutes after the match began.
Chhetri was at the right place when the ball landed on his foot, but his shot hit the crossbars and striker Manvir Singh couldn’t put it behind the Afghan goalkeeper on a rebound.
Then to the elation of over 10,000 people in the 24,000-capacity stadium in Guwahati, India was awarded a penalty kick after Afghanistan’s Haroon Amiri committed a handball offence.
And the Indian skipper comfortably converted it into a goal.
By the time the first half came to an end, both the teams had their chances in front of the goal but the score remained at 1-0 in favour of India.
India began the second half aggressively and won two back-to-back corners in the early minutes of the half, but couldn’t bother the scorers.
After the first quarter of the 2nd half, Afghanistan intensified their attack on Gurpreet Singh Sandhu’s goal and pressed the Blue Tigers well.
The neighbours were soon rewarded with an equaliser when striker Rahmat Akbari’s shot from inside the box went through legs of defender Rahul Bheke for a goal.
In the 88th minute, Afghanistan’s Sharif Mukhammaed scored the winning goal for the neighbours in another penalty kick after Indian goalkeeper Sandhu received a Yellow Card for committing a foul inside the box.
Notably, the last outing between the nations had ended in a goalless draw in the away leg. The Blue Tigers are currently second in the Group A of the points table.
Nonetheless, Chhetri, who made his debut against Pakistan in a friendly in Quetta in June 2005, became the 40th footballer in the world to play 150 or more international matches.
With a staggering tally of 94 goals, he stands as the highest goal-scorer for the Indian national team, a proof to his unparalleled talent and dedication.
