India beat Cambodia 3-2

India overcame a spirited Cambodia side 3-2 at Phnom Penh as goals from Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua and Sandesh Jhingan sealed the deal for Stephen Constantine’s men. The Blue Tigers were lucky to go into halftime all square even after being thoroughly outplayed in the as a howler from the Cambodian keeper helped Suni Chhetri open the scoring against the run of player.The hosts were, however, back on level terms within seconds.

The second half saw Indian make changes which ultimately proved to be the key to the visitors turning the screws as it opened the floodgates. Cambodia and especially Chan Vathanaka weren’t going away tamely as they looked to find their way back into the game. However, his goal turned out to be just too little as India ran out winners on the night by a goal.1 - This was India’s first win in an international friendly away from home in 12 years. This also comes in good time as they prepare to face Myanmar on the 28th of March in their opener of the AFC Asian Cup qualifier.2 – Eugeneson chipped in with two assists on the night. However, the Bengaluru FC midfielder was again anonymous, especially in the first half which also saw him give away some needless free kicks. If India are to make their way past the group stages, they need more the former Lajong man.5 – This was India’s fifth on the trot. The Blue Tigers are enjoying a purple patch and have won 10 of their last 12 games. However, this game should give Stephen Constantine and his men a real kick up the backside. The visitors were thoroughly outplayed in the first half and were lucky to have gone into the break on level terms.

28 – Stephen Constantine has a penchant for giving debuts and in this game, two names were further added to the list who have made their bows under the watchful eyes of the Englishman. Anas Edathodika was given his long due place at the backline as he started the game at the heart of the defence alongside Arnab Mondal.52 – Death, taxes and Sunil Chhetri scoring in Indian colours seem to be the most inevitable of things in life these days. The Bengaluru FC man took his tally of international goals to 52 as he found himself at the end of a fortuitous moment as the ball slipped through the hands of the Cambodian keeper and come straight into his path. India struggled in the first half and mainly due to their inability to bring Chhetri into the game. This was similar to the opening in the game against Puerto Rico last time around. And the answer both the times was to get Chhetri involved at the centre of the pitch.

Comments

Utah gymnastics: Utes enjoy down time before ramping up again for Regionals

Members of Utah's gymnastics team will get back to work in the coming days to prepare for the NCAA regionals on April 1 after a few days of rest and light work to let their bodies recover. The fourth-ranked Utes are the top seed in the Fayetteville, Ark., regional, where they will compete against No. 9 Denver, No. 16 Cal, No. 21 Auburn, No. 27 Arkansas and No. 28 Central Michigan. The Utes, who won the Pac-12 title with a season-high 197.925, continue to put their focus on clean landings, the one area in which they feel they can improve, Utah co-coach Megan Marsden said. The Utes are using practice competitions and other means to focus on the landings. "They enjoy competition among themselves, and it helps to have a reason and purpose at this point in the year to keep it fresh," Marsden said. The good news is the Utes feel they can focus on the details because their training has been solid throughout the season. If anything, the coaches are toeing the line bet...

IPL 2017: Complete list of players missing IPL 10 due to injuries

Before the IPL kickstarts its tenth edition teams losing players to injuries has become the trend. With less than four days to go for the tournament to begin, some of the biggest names of world cricket have already pulled out. Royal Challengers Bangalore are seemingly the worst-hit. Their skipper Virat Kohli is already nursing a shoulder injury and will be out for a couple of weeks. Again, yesterday it was confirmed that their other star batsman KL Rahul, too will miss the season as undergoes a surgery. Rahul was injured during the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy and as per reports he will soon be travelling to London to undergo surgery. Rahul had earlier given hints about his injury and how the injury was stopping him from playing extravagant strokes. After skipper Virat Kohli, KL Rahul is the second Indian batsman from RCB who has got injured. In Kohli’s absence AB de Villiers was supposed to lead the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side. However, that seems to be...

India will be fine without Kohli: Smith

Australia skipper confident India can cover the potential loss of Kohli in the fourth Test Australia captain Steve Smith has no doubt Ajinkya Rahane will be able to adequately lead India in the final Test should captain Virat Kohli be ruled out through injury. Kohli will need to pass a fitness Test on his injured right shoulder in order to play in the series-decider in Dharamsala, with youngster Shreyas Iyer called in as cover. When Kohli left the field after falling heavily attempting to prevent a boundary midway through the opening day of the third Test in Ranchi, Rahane, as vice-captain, was instilled as the interim skipper for the next 89 overs. Australia were bowled out for 451 under Rahane’s watch but Kohli returned in Australia’s second innings, barely fielding a ball at first slip during the visitors’ 100 overs at the crease. With Kohli racing against the clock to be fit for perhaps the biggest Test of his career, Smith expects Rahane to once again fill in as his counte...

sportslover

Search This Blog