India beat Vanuatu 1-0 at the Kalinga Stadium in the Intercontinental Cup on Monday thanks to a lone strike from skipper Sunil Chhetri in the 80th minute of the game.
Team India started on a positive note as they made a number of forays into the opposition box.
Nandakumar Sekhar, who was handed his senior debut by Igor Stimac on the day seemed lively throughout and started the game really well as he looked menacing attacking the box from the left.
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India had a couple of brilliant chances in the opening half of the game but could not manage to get the decisive touch to send the ball into the net.
Pritham’s cross aimed at captain Sunil Chhetri lurking in the middle of the box was a peach of a chance for India to go ahead in the game, but the skipper put his header just over the bar.
The trope would continue on the evening as India churned out chance after chance, but couldn’t find the crucial touch to make the scoreboard tick.
The teams headed into the break with the deadlock yet to be broken as India wasted a number of chances.
As the players came out for the second half, the same pattern observed during the first period of the game seemed to continue as India dominated the ball and managed to create chances but ultimately failed to put the ball into the back of the net.
After the hour mark, Stimac decided to make three changes as he brought on Adbul Samad, Anirudh Thapa and Jeakson Singh in place of
A delightful cross in from the left is chested down by the captain before he unleashes a ferocious left-footed volley into the net to send the Kalinga Stadium into a roar.
The captain was withdrawn in the 85th minute to a raucous ovation as always, and all India had to do was hold on to the slender lead to register the win.
The win also ensured that India booked their berth in the final of the tournament.
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