Ratings: Chhetri-Mahesh duo leads India into SAFF Championship 2023 semis

India made quite a few changes but still came back with a victory.

India beat Nepal by an assuring 2-0 scoreline in the SAFF Championship 2023 at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Saturday. Igor Stimac‘s men handled Vincenzo Alberto Annese’s boys intelligently and waited for the right moment to strike. The first half may have seen a goal if Sahal Abdul Samad had judged the flight of and converted Akash Mishra‘s cross properly. However, Nepal’s reluctance to commit their full-backs meant India had to fight a gritty, low block and could only come up with a stalemate.

After half-time, Annese instructed his side to commit players in attack and try and get something out of the game. India smelled blood and shifted their game to the wings entirely, leading to Sunil Chhetri’s goal in the 62nd minute. A simple cross from Naorem Mahesh Singh helped Chhetri turn hero and eight minutes later, the former turned goal-scorer himself.

Let us see the player ratings for the night:

Nepal (By Projjal Das)

Kiran Limbu – 7.0

The Nepalese custodian had an average day out in the field, mostly being let down by his defence and sometimes the harsh luck going against their team.

Sanish Shrestha – 4.0

The Nepal right-back was clearly in a lot of discomfort after being put under immense pressure by the Indian left flank. He was the reason why Nepal conceded their first goal.

Ananta Tamang – 5.0

The centre-back held the Nepal defence for nearly an hour but was undone by the brilliance of the Indian forwards.

Rohit Chand – 7.0

One of the few bright stars who shone for the Nepalese outfit was their centre-back Rohit. The Persik Kediri centre-back who plies his trade in Malaysian club football put in his best foot forward and neutralised at least three more goal-scoring opportunities from India.

Devendra Tamang – 6.0

The Nepal left full-back had a decent outing considering the fact they lost the match by only two goals. The fact that he was fielded against Lallianzuala Chhangte who is currently in his best run of form, and stopped the latter from making any successful runs into the box speaks a lot about his prospect.

Laken Limbu – 4.0

The Nepal midfield was barely visible during the match as there was neither any major interceptions nor any substantial build-up in the Nepalese midfield. Laken Limbu disappointed the team as he didn’t have any significant impact on the fixture.

Arik Bista – 6.0

One of the prolific midfielders of Nepal, Arik strung together a lot of passes in the midfield and ran through the defence a couple of times and had he not been injured in the 67th minute, he would have consolidated something from his attacking moves.

Anjan Bista – 4.0

The attacking midfielder who was on the scoresheet in an earlier encounter between the two nations, had to be subbed off with an unfortunate injury just before the lemon break. 

Ayush Ghalan – 4.0

The left winger of Nepal was not impactful from the flank as much as he would have wanted to. Apart from making a few runs down the left, almost all of his efforts were countered by the Indian right-back and midfielders.

Manish Dangi – 4.0

The right winger was equally unimpressive as his compatriot on the left and hardly did much other than a couple of runs down the wing.

Bimal Magar – 4.0

The centre forward of Nepal had no mark in the game at all and was left clutching at straws as he was not fed with passes from his teammates.

Substitutes

Awas Lamichhane – 4.0

Subbed in place of Anjan Bista, the Nepalese forward had no direct impact on the game as his tactics in the attacking third were neutralised by the Indian defence.

Simanta Thapa – 4.0

The replacement for Sanish Shrestha was ineffective as his fellow right-back as he couldn’t contain the left flank of India and as a result his team conceded the second goal of the game.

Nabin Lama – 5.0

The Nepalese forward tried his best to prevent his seeping midfield and create goal-scoring chances for his team but failed to do so, courtesy the impenetrable Indian defence.

Dipak Raj Singh Thakuri – 4.0

The like-for-like replacement of Bimal Magar couldn’t manage to score in the 18 minutes he got under his belt.

India (By Riddhiman Sarkar)

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu (GK) – 6.5

Got down well to save a shot in the first half. Did not have a lot to do in order to get the clean sheet as Nepal lacked the clinical edge in finishing. 

Nikhil Poojary – 6.5

Overlapped on the cover and often gave India an extra option on the flanks. Substituted for Pritam Kotal in the 74th minute.

Rahul Bheke – 6.5

Vigilant in maintaining the backline alongside Mehtab with wise distribution and timely challenges. Went into the book in the 65th minute.

Mehtab Singh – 7

The robust ball-playing centre-back was ice-cold both in his distribution and in sweeping up stray balls. Made a crucial block on one instance and helped keep India’s clean sheet in tact.

Akash Mishra – 6.5

High-flying wing-back Mishra bombed down the left and made his way into dangerous territory through the wing. Almost set up Sahal for the opener with a brilliant cutback.

Anirudh Thapa – 6.5

Dropped into his favoured midfield role to help out with the build-up. In the process, Thapa drew some clever fouls that helped India regain control over the tempo of the game.

Rohit Kumar – 6.5

Did a commendable job in regulating and regaining possession but was not the genie-in-the-bottle for India. Came off for Jeakson Singh in the 63rd minute.

Udanta Singh – 6.5

Popped up anywhere and everywhere as he was given the license to roam by the think-tank. Gave way to Lallianzuala Chhangte in the 63rd minute.

Sahal Abdul Samad – 7

Demonstrated finesse in dribbling as he left up to three defenders chasing his shadows at times even in tough spots. Combined extremely well with Naorem Mahesh Singh and Akash Mishra but missed a golden chance to open the scoring. Gave way to Rahim Ali in the 82nd minute.

Naorem Mahesh Singh – 8.5

Relentless marauding down the wing finally saw him play a one-two with Sahal and tee up Chhetri with a simple grounded cross. Turned goal-scorer as he somehow headed the ball home after a goalmouth scramble.

Sunil Chhetri – 7.5

Captain Fantastic became the man-of-the-hour once again and quite literally, as he found the back of the net from Naorem’s cross in the 62nd minute.

Substitutes

Jeakson Singh – 7

Induced control and discipline into midfield after coming on, allowing India to motor forward. 

Lallianzuala Chhangte – 6.5

Injected pace and energy, and became an additional threat down the right flank.

Pritam Kotal – 6.5

Aided India’s defensive duties in preserving the eighth successive clean sheet.   

Rahim Ali – 6.5

Managed to control the ball and hold it up well but was not very prominent in the dying stages of the match.

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