Captain Sunil Chhetri handed India their first win in almost six years in Fifa World Cup qualifiers as his brace downed Bangladesh 2-0 in their preliminary round match here on Monday.
Chhetri broke the deadlock in the 79th minute when he headed in Ashique Kuruniyan’s cross from the left. He then sealed the result by curling in a shot from long range in added time.
Ashique delivered a cross from the left for Chhetri, who, after a bursting run and from an acute angle, headed in brilliantly from behind Topu Barman.
It was that man Chhetri again as he rounded off his evening with another fine strike in extra time (90+2) after receiving the ball from Suresh Singh from the right flank.
India thus registered their first win in what was turning out to be one of their worst World Cup qualifying campaigns in many years.
The 36-year-old Chhetri is only behind Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo in the active international goalscorers list.
Former Iran star Ali Daei tops the all-time list with 109 goals from 149 matches.
“He’s now got more than Messi! Sunil Chhetri’s double earns the Blue Tigers a 2-0 win in a WCQ and moves him on to 74 international goals — above Lionel Messi and one off entering world football’s all-time top 10,” tweeted the official account of Fifa World Cup.
India’s last victory in World Cup qualifiers was a 1-0 result against Guam in November 2015 in Bangalore.
India are already out of contention for a berth in next year’s World Cup but remain in the reckoning for a place in the 2023 Asian Cup.