Sunil chhetri gave India the lead in the 27th minute before Bishwanath Ghosh was sent off and then Yeasin Arafat equalized in the 74th minute.
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India were held to an underwhelming 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in their opening match of the 2021 SAFF Cup at the National Football stadium, Male, Maldives, on Monday. Sunil Chhetri gave the lead to India before the half-hour mark. Less than ten minutes into the second half Bishwanath Ghosh was sent off for denying a goal scoring opportunity. But against the odds, Bangladesh pushed forward and equalized through Yeasin Arafat. India who are the favourites to win the competition would be utterly disappointed with the result.
India were the better side in the first half, they were passing the ball pretty well and pushed Bangladesh into the back foot. However, a quick counter attack almost caught India napping and central defender Chinglensana Singh had to make a crucial clearance after Ibrahim sent in a low cross from the left for Motin Mia.
Udanata singh, who was making his comeback into the national team after missing the trip to Nepal was the best Indian player for the Indian side. The Bengaluru FC winger provided the assist for his compatriot Chhetri to break the deadlock in the 27th minute. Pritam Kotal released Udanta down the right flank and the 25-year-old cut the ball from near the byline and Chhetri smashed it into the roof of the net. It was the 37-year-old’s 76th goal for the national team.
Three minutes later, Chhetri tested Bangladesh goalkeeper Anisur Rahman with a powerful left-footed strike. Bangladesh were playing with a 4-1-4-1 defensive formation and mostly relied on counter-attacks. In the 40th minute, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was called into action as he had to make a diving save to deny Biplu Ahmed.
After the break, Igor Stimac brought in Brandon Fernandes for Anirudh Thapa. India also got a numerical advantage after Arafat was shown a red card for a rugby tackle on Liston Colaco who was through on goal.
Rahman was having a busy night as he had to make a double save from Manvir Singh and Udanta. Rahim Ali and Lalengmawia came in for Udanta and Colaco before Bangladesh leveled the score in the 74th minute. A corner from the left flank was flicked on at the near post by Bhuyan and Arafat arrived unmarked at the far post to head in.
Despite playing with 10-man Bangladesh were threatening the Indian goal and India failed to capitalise on the man advantage. Although both sides created chances at both ends the match ended in a draw.
Bangladesh now have four points from two games while India has a solitary point from one game. Stimac’s side will next play Srilanka on Thursday.
Igor Stimac said during his post-match press conference “I would like to congratulate both teams because this was the best game of football among these last three games (between India and Bangladesh). We are the only guilty party for the end result. We had everything in control, took a one-goal lead and had one player more than the opponents – and then, for some unknown reasons, we started giving away the ball and making unnecessary mistakes,”
He added “And that (the equaliser) is what happens when you boost the confidence of your opponents. When you give them chances, they’ll take it.”
