Sunil Chhetri surpasses Lionel Messi to become the second-highest active international goal-scorer

With his twin strikes, the captain led from the front to power India to a 2-0 win over Bangladesh on Monday night, the latest effort helping him surpass Argentina's global superstar Lionel Messi to become the second-highest active international goal-scorer with 74 strikes.

Chhetri scored two goals in a span of 13 minutes to help India seal their first win in a World Cup qualifier away from home since 2001. Chhetri leads Barcelona superstar Messi by two goals and sits a place above Ali Mabkhout of the UAE, who is third on the list with 73 strikes to his name.

Messi (left) scored his 72nd international goal in a World Cup qualifier against Chile last Thursday, while Mabkhout (right) added to his tally against Malaysia, also last week.

Centre back Sandesh Jhingan felt that Chhetri's name will be remembered even after 100 years. Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu says, "There's one guy floating in between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi -- and that's my teammate, my captain Sunil Chhetri."

The win has helped India climb to third place in the group with six points after seven games. Already out of World Cup contention, the result against Bangladesh is a boost to their chances of earning a direct spot in the third round of the Asian Cup qualifiers.