By Elton Gomes
After defeating Chinese Taipei 5-0 in the opening game of the Intercontinental Cup, India cruised to a 3-0 victory over Kenya. India played Kenya in a packed Mumbai Football Arena in Mumbai. All eyes were on Indian captain Sunil Chhetri who was playing his hundredth game.
Before the game could begin, Chhetri was accorded the guard of honour by his teammates. Chants of ‘Chhetri Chhetri’ resounded in the stadium as the Indian captain was greeted with respect in his centenary game.
In the initial stages of the game, Kenya saw more of the ball but posed no significant threat to India. India had a decent chance in the sixteenth minute to score, but the Kenyan goalkeeper managed a good save. Chhetri missed a scoring opportunity later 22 minutes into the game, but his long-range effort went over the bar.
44 minutes into the game, Udanta Singh made his way past the Kenyan defence and placed the ball into the box, but the Kenyans managed to clear the ball to safety. Both teams were goalless at the end of the first half.
After the second half began, finally 68 minutes into the game Chhetri found his name on the score sheet and gave India the lead. Just three minutes later, Jeje Lalpekhlua fired a close-range shot and put India in the driver’s seat, as the hosts went 2-0 up.
As 90 minutes came to a close, Chhetri chipped the ball above the Kenyan goalkeeper to score his second of the match and give India a 3-0 victory. With this goal, Chhetri now has 61 goals to his name in a total of 100 matches. India’s next match is with New Zealand on June 7.
Elton Gomes is a staff writer at Qrius