Male, Oct 7: India produced yet another disappointing performance as they were held to a goalless draw by 205th ranked Sri Lanka despite a dominant display in their second SAFF Championships match here on Thursday.
The seven-time champions paid the price of not creating enough chances and wasting those they got against a Sri Lankan side 98 places below them in the FIFA rankings. The 107th-ranked Indians were ineffective against their opponents, who only have five countries ranked below them in a 210-team table.
Igor Stimac’s full-strength team is still searching for a win in two matches.
They have drawn against 10-man Bangladesh 1-1 in their opening match on Monday, that has put pressure on Stimac.
A loss or a draw against current table toppers Nepal (6 points) on Sunday can make it difficult for India to qualify for the final. The top two teams from the round-robin league qualify for the final to be played on October 16.
India made three changes from the previous match starting eleven with Seriton Fernandes and Mandar Rao Dessai replacing Chinglensana Singh and Pritam Kotal in the defence and Suresh Singh coming in for Manvir Singh upfront.
The best chance of the first half came in the 22nd minute but Liston Colaco’s free header from a nice cross from the right flank by Udanta Singh sailed over the bar.
Stimac was booked for arguing with the referee as frustration clearly writ large on the face of the Croatian coach. India missed a golden opportunity to steal a winner two minutes before regulation time.
An inswinging Yasir corner was flicked on at the near post by Chhetri and the ball found its way to Subhasish Bose at the far post. It needed a simple tap-in from Bose but he blazed it over the bar and Sri Lanka escaped to a draw. (PTI)
