Hisor: India marked their debut appearance in the CAFA Nations Cup with a third-place finish, defeating higher-ranked Oman 3-2 on penalties for their first-ever victory against the West Asian side here on Monday.
The match went into shootout after the proceedings ended 1-1 post extra time at the Hisor Central Stadium.
After Udanta Singh Kumam’s 80th-minute goal cancelled out Jameel Al Yahmadi’s 55th-minute opener, the 30 minutes of extra time did not yield any result. Oman defender Ali Al Busaidi was sent off in the 96th minute.
Lallianzuala Chhangte, Rahul Bheke, and Jithin MS scored for India in the penalties, while Anwar Ali’s spot-kick was saved and Udanta missed.
Meanwhile, Thani Al Rushaidi, Muhsen Al Ghassani were the only two players to score their spot kicks for Oman. Harib Al Saadi and Ahmed Al Kaabi missed theirs, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, in dramatic fashion, produced a save off the last kick of the game from Jameel Al Yahmadi.
While Oman enjoyed majority of possession, both sides shared nearly equal number of chances.
India began on the front foot, launching counter attacks through Vikram Partap Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte on the wings.
The Blue Tigers’ real chance came in the 16th minute, when a Muhammed Uvais long throw was headed on towards Anwar by Nikhil Prabhu. The defender’s powerful header was saved by Oman goalkeeper Ibrahim Al Mukhaini.
Oman, however, began to grow into the game, and Sandhu was soon called into the action in the 25th minute, when Issam Al Sabhi’s shot from outside the box was palmed away by India’s
custodian.