As the match on Monday approached  its  final  stretch  with  the  scoreline  undisturbed,  it  cried  out  for  a  telling  pass  into  the  18-yard    box. And, India winger Ashique Kuruniyan,  who  came  off  the  substitutes’  bench  at  the  start  of  the  second  half,  did  just  what  the  doctor ordered. Ashique  proved  to  be  the  point  of  positive  difference  for  the  Blue  Tigers,  providing  a  delightful  delivery  for  Sunil Chhetri to nod home in the 78th minute.

In an e-mail interaction with DT Next, the  23-year-old  relived  the  mighty  important opening strike.“The   moment   I   got   the   ball,   I   looked  up  and  saw  Sunil  bhai,  who  was at the edge of the box and ready to  make  a  run.

He  waited  until  I  made  contact  with  the  ball.  In  that  split second, I took the decision of crossing the ball to the far post. With  all  his  experience,  Sunil  bhai    calmly headed it home,” explained Ashique, a livewire on the left wing.

In  stoppage  time,  skip-per Chhetri rubber-stamped the result  with  a  second  goal  and  helped  India  notch  up  its  first   win   in   the   joint   qualifiers. To no    surprise,  Ashique  said  that the national  team captain makes the task simpler for those around him. “The job becomes much easier.

A striker usually waits for crosses while a winger  always  looks  for  the  right  place  and  time  to  deliver  them.  There  has  to  be  sync.  Sunil  bhai’s  biggest  quality  is  his  ice-cool head and that is what makes him different  from  others.

Once  he  is  inside  the box, he is just so cool. He understands that  chances  won’t  come  off  every  move  and  that  it  is  important  to  convert  when  there is one,” added Ashique.Fresh  from  a  2-0  victory  over  Bangladesh,  India  with  six  points  from  seven  matches  in  Group  E will  meet  Afghanistan  on  Tuesday.

Ashique  said  that  the  In-dia  players  are  in  an  upbeat  mood,  but  stressed  that  they  aren’t  complacent  heading into the team’s final game.“The  morale  in  the  dressing  room  is  high.  But,  the  match  against  Afghanistan  is  a  new  one.

While  the  positive  result  against Bangladesh will inspire us, it will not  guarantee  future  success.  So,  we  need  to start from scratch,” Ashique concluded.