India got their SAFF Championship campaign underway in style as they hit four past a hapless Pakistani side to register a 4-0 win over the arch-rivals to begin the tournament on a positive note at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Skipper Sunil Chhetri led from the front as he starred in the fixture with a brilliant hattrick to put the tie beyond doubt before Udanta Singh added the fourth for India in a one-sided contest.
“I think we are very happy to keep a clean sheet. We also have to start a tournament on a winning note,” the captain said right after the crucial win.
“These games, especially under these conditions, are never easy,” he added reflecting on the rainy conditions in the capital city of Karnataka.
“We are really happy I think majorly because you will keep a clean sheet and also very happy people turned up. This is amazing. I mean, this is what you play for. So really happy,” Chhetri concluded thanking the 22,000-plus fans in attendance on Wednesday.
Chhetri opened the scoring on the night as he capitalised on a horrendous keeping error from the Pakistani goalie in the 10th minute of the game to roll the ball into the open net.
He added another within five minutes of the first one as he converted a spot kick with poise. He stepped up and slotted the ball into the left side of the net beyond the Pakistani shot-stopper to give India a two-goal cushion in the first half.
The 38-year-old completed his hattrick on the night as he finished yet another penalty in the second half of the game. Chhetri once again stood over the spot kick and netted yet again, this time blasting the ball past the diving goalkeeper to take his goal tally in Indian colours to 90 strikes.
India are slated to take on Nepal next in the SAFF tournament on the 24th of June before facing off against Kuwait on the 27th of this month.
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