Indian Player Ratings: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu & Sandesh Jhingan shine as India force China to stalemate

The Blue Tigers put up a staunch defensive performance to deny the rampant Red Dragons.

The Indian football team squared off in a historic friendly against the Chinese team that is managed by former Champions League and World Cup winner Marcello Lippi. The Blue Tigers held the Chinese to a 0-0 draw at the Suzhou Olypmpic Sports Centre Stadium in what was an excellent defensive performance from Stephen Constantine's men.

Watch: China PR 0-0 India highlights

Here, we'll have a look at how the Blue Tigers fared in the game.

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu - 9.0

Gurpreet was unbelievably good on Saturday night. He made some absolutely top drawer and clutch saves in the second half and made some great decisions when coming to collect the ball.

He was also decent in distribution and sweeping when required and commanded the backline well. Gurpreet’s performance was one of the pivotal reasons why India managed to get a result off Lippi’s China and will certainly be remembered for a long, long time.

Sandesh Jhingan- 8.0

Sandesh Jhingan had donned the captain’s armband for the game and he certainly performed like one. Jhingan was rock solid defensively, throwing his body on the line, retrieving possession multiple times and harassing the Chinese frontline while maintaining his discipline and composure.

The defender also had a great chance to score from a corner which missed the target by quite some distance, but his defensive contributions were top notch.

Subhashish Bose- 7.0

Subhashish Bose partnered Jhingan really well and was pretty instrumental in holding together the defensive fortress that Constantine’s India put out against the Chinese frontline. He was also decent in playing out from the back and recycling possession back to the midfielders.

Pritam Kotal- 7.5

Kotal had a good game on the flanks. He also tested the Chinese keeper Yan Junling on one occasion early in the first half, which was so close to going in. The full-back interchanged flanks with Narayan Das and put in a shift while going up and down the wings.

Narayan Das- 6.0

Narayan Das did not impress too much in the game. He was caught out of position a couple of times and was prone to a few errors here and there. He was replaced in the second half by Anas Edathodika.  

Pronay Halder- 6.0

Pronay Halder had a mixed bag of a game. He was superb defensively, providing that extra support from midfield to secure the defence and help out Jhingan and Bose. Off the ball, he harried the Chinese players and put in some good challenges.

While in possession, however, he was terrible and lost the ball multiple times. His distribution wasn’t up to the mark either and asked a lot from the likes of Anirudh Thapa. Vinit Rai came on late in the second half to replace Halder.

Also Read

• We needed to get used to the standard of football which we would face in the Asian Cup- Constantine

• Grittty India hold wasteful China to historic draw in internationa friendly

• Talking Points: Does the Indian midfield need to improve their link-up play?

Anirudh Thapa

Anirudh Thapa had a very promising game in midfield. The young Chennaiyin midfielder was responsible for gluing the midfield together and bringing the likes of Jeje and Udanta into the game.

Overall, it was a very satisfying performance from Thapa who has a bright future ahead of him. He was taken off late in second half added-time and Rowllin Borges came on in his place.

Holicharan Narzary- 6.0

Narzary did not have a great game. He interchanged flanks with Udanta on a couple of occasions to confuse the Chinese defence, but left a lot to be desired from the left flank.

Udanta Singh- 6.0

Udanta Singh’s pace did not come in too handy in the game as he wasn’t afforded space down the flank. The winger wasn’t too impressive. He had a great chance in the second half to score the opener for India, but completely fluffed his lines. Nikhil Poojary came on in his place late in the second 45.

Sunil Chhetri- 7.0

Sunil Chhetri did not have exactly as prolific a game as he would’ve desired. In the first half, a great cross from the flank fell to him, but he failed to connect well with the ball. He was great in the second half, however, combining well with Jeje Lalpekhlua and the other midfielders.

Jeje Lalpekhlua- 6.0

Jeje Lalpekhlua did not have a good game which is one of the primary reasons why India lacked a lot of attacking firepower. In the first half, he was pretty poor and had a better second half by contrast.

Jeje hasn’t been on a great run of form with Chennaiyin and this display did not help his cause. Was replaced by Farukh Choudhary in the second half.

Substitutes

Anas Edathodika- 7.0

Anas came on to replace Narayan Das in the second half and had a great game defensively late in the second half, when the Chinese began piling on the pressure on the Indian defence.

Nikhil Poojary- 6.0

Poojary replaced Thapa in the second half. He wasn’t too involved in the game because of the lack of possession, but was pretty good on the ball whenever he got it.

Farukh Choudhary- N/A 

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Vinit Rai- N/A

Rowllin Borges- N/A