Belarus Vs India Ratings: Anirudh Thapa saving grace in humbling defeat

The Blue Tigers had also lost the first friendly against Bahrain.

India fell to a 0-3 loss to Belarus in their final international friendly game at the Bahrain National Stadium, Riffa on Saturday. The Blue Tigers maintained a strong shape in the first half, but couldn’t survive the whole stretch. Here we look at the player ratings for the Belarus vs India match.

Artem Bykov scored a thunderous volley to put his side ahead in the 48th minute. Andrey Salavei then added another in the 68th minute with a smart close-range finish. Valery Gromyko pounced on a defensive error to make it 3-0 in the 91st minute, rounding off a superb second-half performance in which they put India to the sword.

Here are the player ratings for the Belarus vs India game.

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Gurpreet Singh Sandhu - 4.5

The India captain had a solid first half, making a few sharp saves to keep his side in the game. But, he was undone thrice in the second half. Gurpreet first saw a powerful volley go past him. He was then nutmegged for the second and was unable to save the shot from going in for the third.

Seriton Fernandes – 6.0

The FC Goa man had to work hard and cover a lot of ground on the right because of Belarus’ tendency to work through that side. Did a pretty decent job defensively. However, he was outwitted a couple of times, putting his defenders under pressure. Taken off at half-time.

Ruivah Hormipan – 5.5

The Kerala Blasters defender got his debut and had an eventful game. Maintained a decent shape and moved the ball forward well with his sharp passing. But, was caught napping for the first and a bit outwitted on occasions. Finished the game at right wing-back, where he looked shaky.  

Sandesh Jhingan – 5.5

The ATK Mohun Bagan centre-back was forced into action throughout the game and came up with many clutch, acrobatic clearances. Maintained a solid defensive line in the first half, but failed to replicate that in the second, seeing his side concede three poor goals. Got outwitted for the second, with Andrei getting ahead of him for his tap-in to put

Anwar Ali – 5.5

Ali received his first start for the Blue Tigers and looked quite composed on his side. Closed things down nicely to maintain a sturdy shape, producing some timely clearances too. But, got himself opened up for the second, not being able to close down the attacker fast enough to avert disaster.  

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Akash Mishra – 6.5

Disciplined and proactive on the left. Maintained a sturdy shape and held himself strongly against a lot of attacks from his side. Closed down the spaces well and forced the opposition players to take a different route, coming up with smart challenges too. Carried the ball forward nicely on a few occasions, but couldn’t really create much.

Anirudh Thapa – 7.0

Thapa was forced to play in a really deep midfield role, but didn’t seem too fussed by it. Did his job diligently, shielding the backline well, pressing the opposition players and moving deep to make crucial interceptions and clearances. Moved the ball forward well and created some decent chances.

Brandon Fernandes – 6.0

Fernandes added a lot of bite to India’s midfield. Shielded his backline strongly and pressed the opposition players cleverly to win back the ball a number of times. Setup some opportunities with his slick forward balls.

VP Suhair – 5.5

Suhair was forced to play deep in order to add defensive cover for his side. The NorthEast United man worked hard to cover a lot of ground and produced some commendable defensive challenges. But, had little attacking threat, not being able to create anything noteworthy from his wing.

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Naoram Roshan Singh – 5.5

After his bright debut against Bahrain, Naorem started as a left-winger. Began the game in an electric fashion and tried hard to get the ball forward. However, couldn’t create any magic with his left foot or setup any major chances. Moved to the right-wing in the second half and lost his tempo.

Manvir Singh – 4.5

A lonely customer up top. Troubled the defenders with his physicality and got beyond them a few times, but his final product was lacking. Took a touch too many in the box and couldn’t really threaten the goalkeeper.

Substitutes

Mohammad Yasir  – 5.5

The Hyderabad FC midfielder didn’t really see much of the ball in the attacking areas. He was forced to play safe passes rather than create anything prominent.

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Aniket Jadhav – 5.0

Jadhav played as a centre-forward for the last half hour, but just like Manvir before him, he got no real service and wasn’t able to produce anything special in the final third.

Chinglensana Singh – 4.0

Singh was brought on to ensure India didn’t concede more than two goals, but did quite the opposite. Produced a sloppy error, giving the ball away inside the box and seeing Belarus pounce on it for their third.

Pritam Kotal – N/R

Couldn’t really make much of an impact in the last few minutes.

Danish Farooq – N/R

Replaced Brandon for the last few minutes but unable to really get himself in the game.

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