India held to 1-1 draw against Bangladesh in FIFA WC Qualifier

India and Bangladesh shared the spoils after a 1-1 draw in the third FIFA World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday evening. Saad Uddin gave the away side a lead just before the half time but Adil Khan rescued India on a day when the latter failed to impose their authority in the match. 

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Average performance

The teams came were greeted by a packed Salt Lake City stadium in Kolkata and Bangladesh seemed ready for the big challenge which they faced off against the Indian side, who were termed 'favourites' going into the game. The away side was denied a penalty in the early minutes of the game when Rahul Bheke went into a challenge from behind in a rather clumsy fashion. The referee played it down and the resulting corner did not yield anything significant. However, they kept on pushing and India were not able to unlock Bangladesh's gameplan who successfully managed to keep Indian captain Sunil Chettri at bay during the game.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was culpable for Bangladesh's goal after failing to deal with a ball that was crossed from the left flank. The Bengaluru FC player tried to claim the ball but missed it totally, and the ball fell for Uddin, who poked it gracefully. Going into halftime, the lack of a performance or a solid tactical set up was a big worry for the home side. 

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Adil Khan rescues India

Bangladesh came out strong in the second half, with two close opportunities. However, India seemed brighter and came very close to equalising when Anas Edathodika's header was cleared off the goal line. India had a couple of more chances but could not convert them and were close to registering their second loss of the qualifiers when Adil Khan scored a thumping header courtesy a well-delivered corner by substitute Brandon Fernandes. Cherri came very close to sealing a remarkable comeback in the closing stages of the match but was not able to execute it well.

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Overall, the draw does not help either team but Igor Štimac would be extremely disappointed for not picking up three vital points and also witnessing his side produce a below-the-par performance. Reflecting on the draw, he said, "We did as we promised. We gave everything that we could. Everything was in our hands, to be honest. I think we have a bright future, and we provided a lot of excitement. This is the future of India. It is going to look offensive, it is going to attack. We are on our way. The strategy was quick passing from the back, and we have the players who can show up in front of Sunil and Sahal. But we were slow at the back. We gave away a silly goal, and you cannot win games giving away goals like that. It was not our lucky day."

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