Shillong, March 25 India’s campaign in the AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers final round didn’t have the best start as they were held goalless by Bangladesh in the opening Group A match at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday.
After an unsure first half when the Bangladesh attackers exploited gaps in the Indian defence to launch a few raids, the Blue Tigers turned around in the next 45 minutes to keep the rival defenders fairly busy, much to the delight of the 15,000-strong crowd.
But a goal remained elusive, thus leaving India to gear up for tougher battles ahead against Singapore and Hong Kong in the four-team group. Singapore and Hong Kong also drew 0-0 earlier on Tuesday.
India head coach Manolo Márquez made five changes from the team that vanquished Maldives in the FIFA Friendly less than a week ago, bringing in Boris Singh Thangjam, Udanta Singh Kumam, Lalengmawia Ralte, Sandesh Jhingan and Farukh Choudhary.
He also handed over the captain’s armband to Sandesh and looked like he had his plans firmly in place on the rain-marred, slippery pitch of the lush green Nehru Stadium.
Yet, Bangladesh had an opportunity to grab the lead within a few seconds of the start when goalkeeper Vishal Kaith’s unsteady clearance landed straight to Md Mojibor Jony. To the relief of the Indian bench, the Bangladesh midfielder’s shot crashed against the side net.
The next foray also came from Bangladesh. Md Shakil Topu danced down the right and crossed in the goalmouth for Md Shariar Emon to take a header that sailed over the bar.
In the first 15 minutes, the visitors tormented the Blue Tigers’ defence with vigour and energy. While Emon looked increasingly dangerous, one more mistake by Kaith had the Indian goal in trouble, but Subhasish Bose made a desperate goalline save in the nick of time.
The unexpected storm over, India slowly settled down to take charge of things and make inroads in the rival defence with encouraging domination in the midfield, and created a few positive chances during this period.
The first to test the Bangladesh goalkeeper Mitul Marma was Liston Colaco, but his right footer didn’t have the required punch. At the stroke of half an hour, the home side had a chance to go up, but Farukh couldn’t beat the custodian despite having a clear view of the frame. The move was initiated by Colaco on the left flank, which was promptly headed down at the goalmouth by Udanta Singh after Md Ridoy made a rather sloppy clearance.
An opportunity went begging for Bangladesh in the 41st minute when Jony raced through the right and was about to slam it in but Kaith displayed remarkable efficiency to foil the attempt.
On the other side, Colaco was doing his job well and truly. In the 54th minute, his measured cross at the goalmouth had the ingredients to fetch a goal, but Sunil Chhetri couldn’t find the right connection despite his quick and impressive spot jump.
India were pressing high during this period, and a couple of minutes later, Chhetri was foiled by defensive midfielder Hazma Choudhury with a strong shoulder push in the air. Having come to the Bangladesh national side with his wealth of experience in England, Hamza clearly pulled the strings in every Bangladesh move, both in defence and attack.
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