Pakistan, ranked 195 in the FIFA ranking, reached Bengaluru only seven hours before kickoff after visa delays couldn’t push India, ranked 101.
It was difficult to not feel sorry for a shattered and embarrassed Saqib Hanif as he buried his face in his hands, with his teammates putting their arms around him to console him.
The Pakistan goalkeeper, along with 19 other players, reached Bengaluru only seven hours before the kickoff against India. Sleep-deprived and tired from a long overnight journey from Mauritius via Mumbai, Hanif stepped on the field for his team’s opening match of the South Asian Football Championship in a foggy state of mind.
Whether it was that, nervousness of playing in front of 22,860 fans or a wet outfield only Hanif will be able to tell. But in the 10th minute, his howler opened the floodgates for India and put an end to any hopes of an upset.
After receiving a back pass from a defender, Hanif controlled it with his left and tried to hoof it forward with the right foot but he completely missed the ball, lost his balance and fell flat on his backside. It fell on a platter for Sunil Chhetri, who wouldn’t have scored many easier goals in his two-decade-long playing career as he slotted it into an empty net.
It was a goal that opened the floodgates on a rain-soaked night at the Sree Kanteerva Stadium as Chhetri’s hat-trick and a goal from Udanta Singh ensured India began their title defence of the regional competition with a comfortable 4-0 win over their neighbours.
There have few mismatches bigger than this. On paper and on the field; statistically and score-wise.
Pakistan are 195th in the world. Only 16 countries are, as per FIFA ranks, worse than them. They last won an international match five years ago. In the last 10 days alone, they have lost thrice, conceding seven goals.
Yet, Igor Stimac – the coach of an Indian team ranked nearly 100 places above Pakistan, at 101, who got sent off in the first half after an altercation with the Pakistani players, bench and the referee – erred on the side of caution on the eve of the match, pointing out that they were a potential banana skin opponent.
Stimac’s caution stemmed from the fact that as many as nine players in the Pakistani squad are born outside the country – including six that started the match – and play in foreign leagues. Take, for instance, centre-back Aston Villa academy product Easah Suliman, who plays for Portuguese club Vilafranquense on loan from Primeira Liga club Vitoria de Guimaraes. Or attacking midfielder in Otis Khan, who plays in the fourth tier of English football for Grimsby Town. Or Harun Hamid, whose most recent club was English side Queens Park Rangers. Five others play in Denmark.
On the night, though, none of it mattered as India – with all of their players competing in the Indian Super League – rolled over them in a nonchalant manner.
India came into the match on the back of a morale-boosting win over a higher-ranked Lebanon, with Stimac hailing the team’s second-half performance as the ‘best in the last five decades’. The gulf in class showed from the first minute itself when a floating cross from the left flank found Chhetri’s head right at the penalty spot. While goalkeeper Hanif did not have to work hard to save that one, the move set the tone for the remaining 89 minutes.
Pakistan, who hadn’t trained for the last three days according to captain Suliman, struggled to come to terms with India’s speed – Lallianzuala Chhangte and Ashique Kuruniyan were unstoppable on the wings; twinkle-toed Sahal Abdul Samad was the creator-in-chief through the middle, where Anirudh Thapa oozed class and calmness.
Pakistan were not just outpaced, but they were also outmuscled as India combined their slick interplay in the wider areas with a more direct approach, with the centre-backs thumping the ball forward in the direction of the strikers.
While Chhetri’s hat trick and the attacking show will grab all the attention, India’s defence had another good day in office as they came up with their seventh-straight clean sheet, the longest streak for the national team.
Anwar Ali and Sandesh Jhingan were rock solid in the centre of the defence as Subhashish Bose and Pritam Kotal blunted Pakistan’s attacks from the wider areas of the pitch. Goalkeeper Amrinder Singh, getting the nod ahead of first-choice custodian Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, did not have a lot to do.
