The Indian national football team crashed to a disappointing 1-1 draw Vs Bangladesh in their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier fixture, at the Salt Lake Stadium on October 15. After the match, Blue Tigers' captain Sunil Chhetri took to Twitter to express his regret about his team's performance despite a packed stadium, boasting immense home support.
"We couldn't deliver a performance to match the atmosphere at the Salt Lake last night, and the dressing room is very disappointed about it. We couldn’t capitalise on the chances we got,but this is a process on the pitch and in the stands. You turned up, we'll keep attempting to", he tweeted.
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In what was expected to be an easy match for India, turned out to be a nightmare. A blunder by Gurpreet Singh Sandhu gifted Bangladesh a first half lead, with India looking devoid of ideas through the opening stages.
The visitors looked more threatening with the ball, and could have scored atleast three goals but inexperience prevented them from increasing their lead. The home side took a long time to recover, and it was only in the dying stages, that Chhetri and co. began to apply more pressure.
The arrival of Brandon Fernandes added a new dimension to the Indian attack, and the FC Goa man began to spray few passes around the field. Then on the 88th minute, India received a corner, with the midfielder tasked to take it.
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The resulting set-piece fell for a towering Adil Khan, who headed it into the Bangladesh goal, giving India the much-needed equaliser.
Both teams ended the match with a point apiece, with India positioned on fourth spot in Group E and Bangladesh in fifth place.
