SAFF Championship 2021 Live Commentary: Bangladesh vs India

Follow the live action from SAFF Championship 2021 clash between Bangladesh and India here. (Refresh the page if any issue arises)

3:30 pm: Hello everyone, and welcome to Khel Now's LIVE COVERAGE of the SAFF Championship 2021! India, who last won the tournament in 2015, gets their campaign underway against an in-form Bangladesh - who beat Sri Lanka in their opening clash only three days ago!

I am your host, Uttiyo Sarkar and I'll be keeping you company through what promises to be a fascinating evening of football. Without further ado, let's take a quick look at what lies ahead for both India and Bangladesh as they get ready to take on each other.

Bangladesh vs India: building up

The game is scheduled for a 4:30 PM IST kick-off on Monday, October 4, 2021, at the Maldives National Football Stadium. As reported by Khel Now earlier, it will be telecast on Eurosport India, which is available for live streaming on the Discovery+ app.

This will be the Blue Tigers’ first tournament since they played the Intercontinental Cup in 2019. Much has changed for the Blue Tigers since then, but not completely for the better. Igor Stimac is under pressure to get positive results. This championship can be the one in which he can redeem himself. India have to produce a better performance than they did against Bangladesh in June, to get off to a thunderous start in the SAFF Championship and to solidify their status as favourites.

The Bangladesh game will be the first of four group stage games that India will play in the SAFF Championship. If they really want to assert their dominance, the Blue Tigers have to start the campaign strongly. Despite defeating the Bengal Tigers in June, India weren’t really as efficient as they should have been.

Stimac’s side hope to play with more efficiency and be more clinical in this one. Being unable to get the three points – or worse a loss – will surely raise more questions on the manager. To gain the momentum and confidence needed to win the tournament, India must start off with a win.

Bangladesh started their campaign with a good win over Sri Lanka. The Bengal Tigers have a lot of momentum on their side which may help them outwit Stimac’s side. Realistically, even a draw can be a good enough result for Bangladesh because of their recent win.

But, they will be vying for the three points here. After coming up short in the FIFA World Cup qualifier in June, the Bengal Tigers are gunning for revenge. A win will automatically raise their odds to advance to the final.

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