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'Beta tumse naa hopaayega' - Fans react as Indian thrash Pakistan 4-0 in SAFF Championship 2023

Here's how the fans reacted after India thrashed Pakistan 4-0 in their first match of the SAFF Championship 2023.

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Rohit Kumar
New Update
Indian football team (Source - Twitter)

Indian football team (Source - Twitter)

The Indian football team defeated Pakistan in a convincing victory to kick off the SAFF Championship 2023. On Wednesday, June 21 at the Srikanteerava Stadium in Bangalore, they destroyed their arch-rivals 4-0. For India, captain Sunil Chhetri was the game's unsung hero. He gave an outstanding performance and scored a hat trick as he pummelled Pakistan with goals. Udanta Singh also scored a goal apart from Chhetri.

From the start, the Indian squad applied constant pressure on Pakistan. They scored two goals in the opening period. In the 10th minute, Sunil Chhetri scored the opening goal. He then scored the second goal in the 16th minute on a penalty kick. The score was 2-0 in India's favour at the half time.

Saqib Hanif, Pakistan's goalkeeper, gifted India the opening goal. From within the box, Hanif was dribbling the ball. When Chhetri approached, he snatched the ball from him and fired it into the goal. Anirudh Thapa attempted a shot at goal six minutes later, and the ball struck the Pakistani custodian in the hand. On this, the referee assessed a penalty. Chhetri added another goal to make the score 2-0.

Pure dominance by the Indian football team

Team India continued the dominance in the second half as they applied pressure right away and caught the Pakistani players off guard. The 74th-minute penalty was not missed by Chhetri as he scored one more goal to complete his hat trick. Udanta added a goal in the 81st minute to make it 4-0 after Chhetri's goal.

While the Pakistani team may not have had a chance to adapt to Bengaluru's conditions, they did have a significant opportunity to score in the fourth minute of the match. Isa Suleiman's header missed the goal post by a small distance. Following this, the Indian team took control of the match and scored the game's opening goal in the 10th minute.

There are two groups made up of the eight teams competing in the 14th edition of the SAFF Championship. Along with India, Group A also includes Kuwait, Nepal, and Pakistan. Group B consists of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Lebanon, and the Maldives. The highest-ranked side in this competition according to FIFA is the Indian team.

Here's how fans reacted:

India Pakistan Football Sunil Chhetri