Anirudh Thapa’s second-half strike helped the Blue Tigers secure a come-from-behind draw against the home side.
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Indian football team came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Nepal in an international friendly held at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Thursday. Midfielder Anirudh Thapa scored for the Blue Tigers in the 60th minute after Anjan Bista had given the home team the lead in the 36th minute. The first half kicked off with India starting on the front foot, earning a corner with their maiden attack. Brandon’s delivery found Chinglensana Singh inside the box but he was denied a shooting chance with a last-ditch challenge. From the second corner, the ball found Chinglensana’s head again but his attempted shot went out for a goal kick.
Liston Colaco continued to be a constant source of threat for India down the left flank, troubling the Nepal defence with his pace and dribbling. In the eighth minute, he got away from his marker and produced a dangerous cross, which lacked an Indian touch in the penalty area. With one-fourth of the game completed, Indian skipper Sunil Chhetri won the ball high up the pitch and played it to Liston, who found Manvir Singh with a pass and he won a corner for the Blue Tigers. Brandon curled the ball in but the referee awarded a free-kick to the hosts as the referee blew for a foul on Nepal custodian Kiran Limbu.
Indian goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was also called into action on a few occasions, as he collected the long passes and crosses attempted by the Nepal wingers. With the game turning out to be a toe-to-toe contest, in the 36th minute, the hosts took the lead through Anjan Bista. He pounced on a loose pass in the Indian defence and put the ball in the back of the net.
India started to surge forward in search of an equaliser, with Liston continuing to be a threat down the left flank on a number of occasions. However, the score at the break remained 1-0 in favour of Nepal. It was indeed Gurpreet who made sure the hosts did not score any more, making a couple of clean saves towards the end of the half from long-range efforts.
A host of changes was made by The Blue Tigers at the break, with Anirudh Thapa and Sahal Abdul Samad coming into their midfield positions, and Seriton Fernandes and Rahim Ali being brought on as well – making their respective senior India debuts. In the 50th minute, Thapa’s free-kick caused havoc inside the Nepal penalty box. The ball fell to Sunil but he was denied a clean shot by an onrushing Kiran. The Nepali keeper continued to press the ball outside his area and blocked a cross with his hand, earning him a yellow card.
Just three minutes later, Sunil almost found the back of the net with a trademark header. Manvir’s cross from the right flank was met with by the Indian skipper at the far post, but his effort was just wide of the target. The pressure soon paid off for the visitors. At the hour mark, the Blue Tigers got the leveller through substitute Thapa, who showed great awareness to poke the ball home from close range. Sunil’s fierce shot from 25 yards could only be palmed into the six-yard box by Kiran and an onrushing Thapa reacted quickly to the rebound and found the back of the net.
Soon after, Rahim almost added a quick second goal with a curling effort from outside the penalty area. However, his well-hit shot went just past the wrong side of the upright. With no more goals to come, the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
The two sides will be in action once again on Sunday in the second international friendly, which will be played at the same venue and will kick off at 5.15 PM IST. It will be streamed live on the Indian Football Team Facebook page.
