Nepal Vs India Ratings: Anirudh Thapa, Anjan Bista excel in stalemate

Both sides came close but failed to score the winner on Thursday evening.

A sloppy gameplay resulted in the Indian football team registering a 1-1 draw against Nepal in the first of their two International friendlies in Kathmandu on Thursday. Nepal took a shock lead against India in the 35th minute when a backpass was intercepted by Anjan Bista, who went past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to score in an open net.

The Blue Tigers came back in force in the second half and scored the equalizer when Anirudh Thapa found the back of the nets off the rebound of a powerful Sunil Chhetri shot in the 60th minute. Both sides failed to score the winner as they had to settle for a draw.

Let's find out how players from both teams performed in the friendly game.

Nepal Vs India: Indian players rating

Gurpreet Singh Sandhu  – 6.0

The Indian custodian conceded a very sloppy opening goal as miscommunication and lack of awareness on his part allowed Bista to score the opener. Made a few solid saves after that.

Rahul Bheke  – 5.5

Nepal posed a lot of their attacks through Bheke’s side, as the defender looked very nervous. Lost complete track of Bista for his goal. Could not add any attacking support to the forwards. Improved as a CB in the second-half, but still not the most compelling performance from the 30-year-old.

Chinglensana Singh  – 4.0

Singh’s confidence betrayed him on the day as he made that sloppy backpass which allowed Nepal to score the opener, leaving Gurpreet stranded. Made a lot of clearances through the game & saved India from trouble, but that mistake remains his black mark.

Subhashish Bose  – 7.0

Probably the most composed Indian defender on the day. Bose slotted into his centre-back role with ease, making brilliant clearances and maintaining a command over the backline.

Akash Mishra  – 5.5

The young left-back was an energetic figure in India's left side. Made some impressive forward runs and showed nice link-up with Colaco, but his crosses were mostly all collected. Defensively not as disciplined as needed either, which is why he was taken off at half-time.

Suresh Singh – 5.0

Singh wasn’t as aggressive in the midfield as he usually is and was overrun in occasions. His forward passing was not creative nor accurate often. Did not look as energetic as usual and was taken off after the hour-mark.

Glan Martins  – 6.5

Glan acted as India’s midfield engine in the first half. Closed down Nepal’s midfielders with crunching challenges, covered a lot of ground & looked the most hungry Indian player to take the fight to Nepal. Subbed at half-time for a more attacking change.

Brandon Fernandes  – 4.0

A rare disappointing outing for Brandon. He looked extremely nervy and gave away possession on quite a few occasions. His creativity was missing against Nepal, as his forward passes were often erratic. Even his set-pieces were all easily collected by Chemjong.

Manvir Singh  – 4.5

Manvir was a very isolated figure on the right-wing. Tried to use his physique to bulldoze through but could not create many chances as he faced a lack of support from Bheke. Slightly improved with the support of Seriton in the second half, but missed a big chance in the 83rd minute when his shot from an awkward angle went wide of the goal.

Liston Colaco – 5.0

Coming off an impressive AFC Cup campaign, Liston looked sharp with his movement. Made a few impressive dribble runs, but his end product was poor. Faded away after a decent start & taken off at half-time.

Sunil Chhetri  – 7.0

The Indian captain was an extremely isolated figure in the first half. Got little to no support in the final third and could not get the better of the bullish opposition defenders.

The Indian skipper looked more dangerous in the second half. It was his thunderous shot that Limbu could not contain and the rebound was converted by Anirudh Thapa. Created a few good chances after that but could not complete the game, as Stimac took him out with 20 minutes to go.

Substitutions

Anirudh Thapa – 7.5

Thapa instantly opened up India’s attack after coming on and showed great awareness to score from the rebound of Chhetri’s shot. Created many chances with his set-pieces & helped India take control after coming on.

Rahim Ali – 6.0

Ali’s introduction greatly aided Chhetri to find more space in attack and the debutant’s movement was really clever too. Found himself in some key areas but his final product was missing. Received a big chance to score very late on but shot wide.

Sahal Abdul Samad  – 5.5

Samad added more intensity to India’s attacks with his passing, but wasn’t really able to make a definite impact in the game. Failed to create any big chance from a rather unusual role.

Seriton Fernandes –  5.5

Fernandes definitely added more attacking spark down the right for India against Nepal than Bheke, but his crosses were not as accurate as the Blue Tigers needed. Defensively much sharper than Bheke and kept Nepal quiet.

Lalengmawia – 6.0

The starlet helped calm things down after coming on. His distribution was excellent as usual as well as won back possession on numerous occasion to avoid danger.

Bipin Singh – 5.5

Replacing Chhetri, Bipin could not make a similar impact. His crosses weren’t creative enough to trouble Nepal’s defenders and he failed to get inside scoring areas.

Nepal Vs India: Nepal players rating

Kiran Chemjong (GK) – 4.0

The Nepal captain had a really eventful game vs India, more for worse than better. He had a solid first half in which he collected the crosses easily. But Limbu was lucky not to get sent off early in the second half when a blatant handball from him outside the box saw him get a yellow card. Couldn’t save Chhetri’s shot and sloppily allowed Thapa to score from the rebound.

Dinesh Rajbanshi  – 6.5

The energetic full-back did quite well against Manvir, not letting him dominate on that flank. Made some clutch clearances and kept Singh isolated on his side.

Ananta Tamang  – 6.0

The centre-back’s passing out from the back was admirable, but he started having problems once India mounted the pressure in the second half. Looked hesitant with his challenges and could not keep India’s forwards at bay.

Gautam Shrestha  – 7.5

The Nepalese right-back was a rock on the right side, doing a great job in neutralizing both Liston and Mishra’s threat in the first half. He handled the pressure down his side valiantly, coming up with clutch challenges whenever required.

Suman Aryal – 7.0

Aryal did a pretty good job for Nepal neutralizing India Chhetri’s threat for the majority of the game and ensured India couldn’t overload the backline from his side. Did a pretty good job to limit India’s attacking threat and even created that late chance for Thapa to almost create a dramatic finish.

Pujan Uparkoti  – 7.5

Uparkoti was arguably Nepal’s best player on their half of the pitch, shielding their backline extremely well. He won a number of key duels in the midfield, snatching the ball and moving it forward with efficiency to get Nepal on counter-attacks. Perfectly did his job as a defensive midfielder before being substituted later.

Tej Tamang  – 6.5

Tamang supported Uparkoti really well to ensure India didn’t run through their midfield line. Covered a lot of ground and did some good defensive work to trouble India. Got the ball forward sharply too but not really involved in any big chances.

Suman Lama  – 7.0

The vibrant midfielder helped Nepal dominate India in the first half, making impressive interceptions and getting the ball forward quickly. His passing and creativity were on point and he got the better of Suresh. Subbed after the hour-mark after starting to fade away.

Ayush Ghalan  – 5.5

Ghalan’s movement and tricky style was occasionally hard to deal with, but he didn’t get on the ball as much as needed. Sent in some inviting crosses into the box but wasn’t rewarded for it.

Anjan Bista  – 7.5

Nepal international Bista was a menace for the India defenders with his sizzling movement in the final third. Troubled Bheke with his off-the-ball runs and cleverly anticipated Sana’s mistake & defeated Gurpreet for the opener. Created a lot of trouble in the final third and definitely Nepal’s most dangerous attacking prospect.

Nawayug Shrestha – 5.0

The Nepal centre-forward caused a few problems by being a menace to the India defenders, trying to use his physique to trouble them. However, he himself couldn’t create much threat or test Gurpreet – forcing the manager to sub him out after the hour-mark.

Substituitions

Manish Dangi – 6.0

The exciting winger’s movement entertained the fans and he troubled Subhashish with his speed. However, Dangi’s crosses weren’t good enough to create something definitive.

Sunil Bal – 5.5

The centre-forward got in some decent positions after coming on, but couldn’t really test Gurpreet with any shots.

Bishal Rai – 6.0

Rai helped to steady things in midfield for Nepal and ensure India did not gain complete control & get a late winner.

Suraj Thakuri – 5.5

Added more protection to Nepal’s defence to ensure they didn’t concede a late winner.

Kamal Thapa – 6.0

The late substitute almost created an instant impact in Nepal’s last chance, but his diving header, unfortunately, went wide of the target.

Nitin Thapa – 5.5

The Nepalese no.7 came on with a few minutes left and almost became a late hero, but his ambitious shot from afar went wide.

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