India 3-2 Malaysia
India: Sunil Chhetri(38', 52'), Jeje(46')
Malaysia: Safee Sali(42', 58')
India came out with all guns blazing with a stellar show witness by few hardcore Indian fans including me. Right from the word go, the lowly crowd tried their best to motivate the Indian Team and it finally paid off in the 38th minute when India grabbed the lead through star forward Sunil Chhetri when he trapped the ball expertly from a superb lofted pass from Syed Rahim Nabi and netted a clean finish to make the scoreline 1-0 in India's favor. The match saw few fantastic end to end stuff with both teams focusing on ground passes more than long balls. 6 minutes after that incident, it was Malaysia;'s turn to pay back with a solid left footed effort from Safee Sali finding the back of the net after his initial shot was deflected by Anwar Ali.
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| Sunil Chhetri showed his class bagging two goals |
In the second half, India started aggressively. Only after a minute, India managed to regain the lead through Jeje. A very fluid passing move saw Baldeep precisely sending a cracking through ball in the six yard box and Francis Fernandez squared it to Jeje who was free with an open net at his bay, made the scoreline 2-1 to the Indian team. Few minutes later, Jeje spilled a great opportunity as he failed to convert from a one on one position, managing to earn India only a corner. There was no respite for the ASEAN Champions, one minute later Sunil Chhetri grabbed his brace when a low cross from Francis Fernandes was deflected in Sunil Chhetri's path and he made no mistake, coolly slotting it between two malaysian defenders, making the scoreline a resounding 3-1 to the hosts. Perhaps, overconfidence crept in as Indian defence was found asleep, a through pass from the midfield saw Safee Sali free past the two centre backs thanks to the space provided by them, and the talismanic forward ended with a calm finish past helpless Subhasish Roy Chowdhry. As the game progressed further, Malaysian team tried desperately to get an equalizer and several panicky moments came by and went. Baldeep Singh was playing an anchor role in the midfield along with Rocus Lamare, which kept the Malaysian midfield at bay at times. Lalrindika Ralte was at his toes too and so was the captain Syed Rahim Nabi which led India to a thrilling victory against the Malayan Tigers.
The good solid performance by the Blue Tigers spearheaded by Sunil Chhetri, earns the first under coach Savio Medeira, and will boost the moral of the team a great deal ahead of the upcoming SAFF Cup.
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