India start campaign with 1-1 draw against Bangladesh

SAFF Championship: Chhetri scores 76th goal

MALE: India allowed a 10-man Bangladesh to come back and score after talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri's 76th international strike to finish with a 1-1 draw in their SAFF Championship opener, in Male, on Monday.

The 37-year-old Chhetri, playing in his 121st match for India, struck in the 27th minute to place himself just a goal shy of legendary Brazillian Pele (77 goals from 92 matches).

He is now fourth in the list of highest scorers among active footballers, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (111), Lionel Messi (79) and Iraq's Ali Mabkhout (77).

India were the better side in the first half and even though they lost possession quite often, they seemed to be cruising. They also had numerical advantage from the 54th minute after Bangladesh player Biswanath Ghosh was sent off for committing a foul on Liston Colaco.

But Igor Stimac's men failed to stop the swift counter-attacking Bangladeshis and conceded a goal in the 74th minute to share points, much to the dismay of the Indian camp.

India plays Sri Lanka in their second round-robin league match on Thursday. Agencies

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