India break away on the counter and Chhetri gets in behind a struggling Kenyan defence to chip the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper into the net to hand the hosts a comfortable victory. (Source: PTI)
Sunil Chhetri’s impassioned plea led to a full house at the Mumbai Football Arena and the capacity crowd were not disappointed as ‘Captain Marvel’s’ brace along with Jeje’s stunning piledriver propelled India to a 3-0 victory over Kenya in the second match of Intercontinental Cup 2018.
Torrential rains led to a slow start to the match as both the teams struggled for possession and timing. Large puddles in the middle of the pitch and in front of the box broke the momentum of play on several occasions. However, it was Kenya who started on the front foot by adjusting well to the conditions. The African country even had two close chances in the first half but failed to find the back of the net. Sandesh Jhinghan, Pritam Kotal and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu were resolute in defence as India managed to keep a clean sheet at halftime.
Witnessing the big game in Mumbai today, the 100th International match of @chetrisunil11. It is an awesome feeling to be in stands amongst the football fans and to cheer for our skipper and team India.
#Chhetri100 #INDvKEN #WeAreIndia #BackTheBlue #AsianDream pic.twitter.com/Ijb75CvvRJ— Praful Patel (@praful_patel) 4 June 2018
Kenya finally paid the price for the missed efforts in the second half as Chhetri earned a penalty after being brought down in the 68th minute. It was a contentious call as replays showed that contact occurred just outside the box. A powerful low-driven shot led the ball past the keeper to give India the lead. Moments later, Jeje latched on to a brilliant low cross by Holicharan Narzary’s to double the lead on the night.
India continued to keep possession of the ball and their dominating play finally reaped rewards as Chhetri once again scored in the 91st minute, courtesy of a fine assist by Balwant Singh. With this win, India now has one foot in the final and play New Zealand in their next fixture.