India overcome hapless Kyrgyzstan

A Baichung Bhutia-inspired India defeated 160th-ranked Kyrgyzstan 2-1 on Sunday.

The skipper, in his 100th appearance for the country, scored the first, while Sunil Chhetri added the second from the spot. For Kyrgyzstan, striker Murzaev Mirlan scored a last-minute consolation.

In front of a sizeable crowd, the defending champions started on a positive note. They seemed boosted by Sri Lanka’s victory against Lebanon on Saturday, as a win in this match would have put them level on points with the East Asians.

Unlike in the previous three matches of the tournament, there was no early goal but India went very close in the sixth minute when a Steven Dias cross was headed just wide off the far post by NP Pradeep. Dias looked particularly lively in the first half and the Mahindra United star, with his persistent crosses from the right flank, was a threat to the Kyrgyzstan defence.

The majority of the opening period was played out in Kyrgyzstan’s half and the relentless pressure paid off as in the 43rd minute, Bhutia controlled a long ball from keeper Subrata Paul and shot towards the far corner. The ball ricocheted off both the posts before going in to put the hosts in front. The crowd erupted in celebration as the skipper was surrounded by his teammates congratulating him on scoring his 41st international goal in his centennial appearance.

The second half started on a similar note with India on the front foot. Bhutia came close to grabbing his second of the evening, but his 48th-minute shot hit the post before rolling wide.

Then in the 58th minute, India doubled their lead through a Sunil Chhetri penalty. Bhutia, who was again in the thick of things, was brought down by Kyrgyzstan goalkeeper, Matiash Pavel. The referee pointed to the spot and Chhetri drove a low shot into the right corner as Pavel went the wrong way.

Kyrgyzstan, though, had a brilliant opportunity to pull one back almost immediately. The visitors were awarded a penalty when striker Mirzaliev Alzambek was fouled in the area. But Paul, who had an impressive game, dived the right way to parry Alzambek’s penalty away and India maintained their two-goal advantage.

India then took their foot off the gas and Kyrgyzstan tried to seize the opportunity. They came close to scoring a couple of times and finally managed to get on the scoresheet when Mirlan scored a tap-in in the last minute of regulation time.

But India held on to take home all three points. With this win, India kept their hopes of making the finals alive and can do so by winning the remaining two games, while Kyrgyzstan, who have lost both their matches so far, are effectively out of the tournament.

India will take on Sri Lanka in their next game on Wednesday, while Kyrgyzstan will face Lebanon on Tuesday.