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India beat Nepal 2-0 in 1st leg of World Cup qualifiers

Thursday's win at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium at Sajusarai here gave newly appointed India head coach Stephen Constantine a winning start in his second stint at the helm of affairs.

Chhetri scored in the 53rd and 69th minutes though he failed to complete a hat-trict as he muffed a spot kick in the 80th minute. A 3-0 verdict would have put India in an even better position when they play the second leg in Kathmandu on March 17 for a second round berth in the qualification.

It was a memorable performance from Chhetri, who used to wear the captain's armband for the last couple of years but playing as deputy to Subrata Paul on Thursday, as he was in the thick of things most of the time in several chances India had in the match.

The visitors did not get a clear scoring chance in the entire match though they had a couple of half chances.

Hours before the start of the match, the Indian team slumped to yet another historical low of 173rd in the latest FIFA rankings but they dictated terms on the Nepalese side who also dropped to 180th.
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