IND vs PAK SAFF Championship: Igor Stimac sees red as Sunil Chhetri's hat-trick helps India thrash Pak 4-0
IND vs PAK SAFF Championship: Igor Stimac sees red as Sunil Chhetri hat-trick helps India thrash Pakistan 4-0
It turned out to be an outrageous outing on Wednesday, June 21 evening for Indian football team coach Igor Stimac after he was sent off in the SAFF Championships contest against Pakistan. The high-voltage clash between India and Pakistan saw a scuffle breakout between the two nations in the first half while the hosts were in total command of the contest in Bengaluru. While the Indian coach was sent off, his team did manage to get the better of the opposition as they thrashed Pakistan 4-0 with Sunil Chhetriscoring a hat-trick.
Chhetrion fire
In rainy conditions in Bengaluru, India took an early lead through skipper Sunil Chhetriafter he scored in the 10th minute of the contest. Things did not go according to plan for Pakistan as they conceded a penalty in the 15th minute as Chhetristepped up to score his second of the contest. He looked in great nick of form to becomethe second-highest scorer in Asia with 90 goals. Only Ali Daei with 109 goals has scored more goals than Chhetriin Asia.
Coach Stimac sees red
With conditions ideal for football, things got heated as Indian coach Stimac stopped Pakistan from taking a throw-in which resulted in an altercation. This made the players angry and saw a reaction come out from the Pakistan players. The heated battle resulted in yellow cards for Sandesh Jhinghan of India and Nabi of Pakistan. The referee would later produce a red card to Indian coach Stimac for attempting to stop the play and consequently faced a touchline ban for the rest of the contest.
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India continue dominance
In the second half though, it was again one-way traffic as India dominated from the start as Chhetriand Co were on fire. The Indian skipper completed his hat-trick in the 74th minute as he scored his milestone goal. Chhetriis now the fourth-highest scorer in the history of the game residing behind Cristiano Ronaldo (123), Ali Daei (109), and Lionel Messi (103).
The icing on the cake was added by Udanta Singh Kumam as he made it 4-0 for India to cap off a sensational outing for the hosts.
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