Bangladeshi hearts were broken by Indian captain Sunil Chhetri, who converted a free-kick from just outside the box with seconds left to salvage a crucial point for his team in a 1-1 draw at the Halchowak Stadium on Tuesday. The Bangladesh team broke down in tears as an all-but-confirmed victory slipped from their grasp with the final kick of their SAFF Championship Group A encounter.
After a poor display against hosts Nepal in their first match on Saturday, Atiqur Rahman Meshu brought Bangladesh back into the tournament by scoring from a corner in the 83rd minute.
But it was not to be, as a foul just outside the penalty area in the third and final minute of stoppage time set the stage for Chhetri’s equaliser.
Bangladesh almost brought back memories of the 2003 SAFF Championship semifinal in Dhaka, when the hosts picked up their only win against India in the regional tournament.
Once again, fortune did not favour Bangladesh, who failed to register their first SAFF Championship win since December 8, 2009 when Bangladesh beat Sri Lanka in their last group match in Dhaka.
Two years ago, Bangladesh did not make it out of the group stage after losses to Nepal and Maldives and a draw with Pakistan.
The teams displayed similar styles, reflecting their respective Dutch coaches, but India took control of the match from the beginning and created some chances in the first half.
In the second minute, India’s in-form midfielder Mehtab Hossain created a scoring opportunity but his shot went away off-target.
Sunil Chhetri failed to put his team ahead in the eighth minute when Frasisco Fernandes provided a cross from the right but the Indian captain put the ball wide.
Bangladesh defended well and demonstrated the potential to compete with strong attacking sides.
National team coach Lodewijk de Kruif made three changes to the team as Ariful Islam, Zahid Hossain and Wahed ahmed did not feature in the starting XI. Sohel Rana, Omar Faruque Babu and Mobarak Hossain Bhuiyan replaced them ably, managing the game according to their coach’s instructions.
Bangladesh played better than India in the second half after Raihan Hasan replaced Waly Faisal, who failed to produce chances from the left flank.
Wingers Mobarak and Toklis Ahmed did a good job of putting the Indian team under pressure, but Zahid Hasan Ameli failed to penetrate the Indian defence as a lone striker.
In the 53rd minute Mobarak fired a ball across the goal mouth, but Ameli’s header was easily grabbed by Indian goalkeeper Subrata Paul.
Bangladesh had a real chance on the counter-attack in the 70th minute, when Mobarak ran speedily down the right flank, dribbled past a few defenders and darted inside the box, but his cross was cleared for a corner by Gouramangi Singh.
Injured captain Mamunul Islam came onto the field in the 82nd minute, just one minute before Meshu put the ball in the net off a deflected Mamunul corner and put Bangladesh in front.
But ultimately, fortune and a questionable refereeing decision went in India’s favour as Mamunul, who set up Bangladesh’s goal minutes earlier, conceded the equalising free kick from the edge of the box after tussling with Indian captain Sunil Chhetri.
The result gives Bangladesh one point from two Group A matches and keeps their slim hopes for a semi-final berth alive after Nepal’s 92nd minute equaliser against Pakistan in their 1-1 draw on Tuesday left the group wide open ahead of the final group fixtures on Thursday.
Bangladesh need to win against Pakistan and hope for a favourable result in the other match between India and Nepal.
-With New Age input
