Sunil Chhetri once again guided India to victory over Nepal on Saturday in the SAFF Championship being held in Bengaluru, India, to help the home side qualify for the semi-finals.
Quick-fire second-half goals from Chhetri and Mahesh Singh ensured that India made it to the knockout stages, while Nepal bowed out of the competition.
Things weren't all that rosy in the first-half for a heavily rotated India who saw eight changes made to the team that won against Pakistan. While they got into good attacking positions, they did not make the correct decision in the final 3rd to convert their opportunities into goals. Sahal Abdul Samad was in particular guilty of making selfish decisions at moments, when perhaps passing to his teammates was the better option. Neither did Nepal's vociferous press help the home side's case as they were tired out by the away side.
MORE: Bet on football matches from India
It was Nepal that had the better chances during the first half of the game. The only shot on target in the first period belonged to Devendra Tamang, whose volley from outside the penalty area drew a save from Gurpreet Singh Sandhu. Bimal Magar too missed a golden opportunity in front of the goal.
The second half did not start in the best of ways either for India, however, as is the case often in football, a single moment changed the course of the game. During the 61st minute of the game Chhetri converted Mahesh's low cross to give his side a crucial lead while scoring his 91st international goal. Less than 10 minutes later, in the 70th minute of the game, the skipper repaid the favour as Mahesh headed in a rebound to double the Indians' lead.
While Nepal did their best to go toe to toe with a much more dominant side who had the advantage of playing at home, the two goals in quick-succession put a dash on their hopes, and the rest of the match was played on a lower tempo, compared to the high octane press they applied at the beginning of the game.
MORE: All you need to know about SAFF Cup
WATCH: Highlights of India vs Nepal (2-0)
All Goals Nepal vs India #football #NepalVSIndia #SAFFChampionship2023 pic.twitter.com/sGkhStJ41X
— T Sports (@TSports_bd) June 24, 2023
Bangalore 💙 #IndianFootball #SAFFChampionship2023 🏆 #NEPIND ⚔️ #IndianFootball ⚽️ #BlueTigers 🐯 pic.twitter.com/qCMrttCSGh
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 24, 2023