Football

‘On cloud 9’ – Here’s how cricket fraternity reacted to India’s 9th SAFF Championship win

India defeated Kuwait by 5-4 in penalty to secure their ninth SAFF title on Tuesday.
Jul 5, 2023 3:28 pm
Indian Football team
Indian Football team (Source: Twitter)

The Indian football team achieved glory in front of a 27,000 crowd at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bangalore on Tuesday. India defeated Kuwait in penalty shootout by 5-4 after the full-time ended at 1-1. Kuwait opened the scoring in the 14th minute after a long ball from the backline found Shabib Al Khaldi who cooly converted it to a goal.

India equalised in the 38th minute after a great link-up between the attacking players go Lallianzuala Chhangte at the end of a pass. From then on the game continued to be scrappy with chances getting created on either way without being converted.

Chhetri leads India to a glorious victory at the 2023 SAFF Championship

The 90 minutes ended with a score of 1-1 and the game had to be moved to extra time. The extra time brought out a similar game from both teams and none of the sides could take their team across the finish line. Eventually, the game moved to the penalty shootout wherein Kuwait missed their first penalty. Star India player Sunil Chhetri was the first from India to take the penalty. Udanta Singh was the sole player to miss from India which brought the scoreline to equal.

India’s goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu held his nerve and saved the last penalty to give India their 9th SAFF Championship trophy. This win, in front of an incredible Bangalore crowd, felt like the start of a new era for Indian football.

The average attendance at this year’s SAFF Championship games for India was close to 20k which paints a very hopeful picture for Indian football. All in all, India’s SAFF win has brought about a new wave of football fandom in the country which will be very beneficial for the sport’s growth in the country.

This win brought about a lot of positive reactions from fans. Even the cricket fraternity joined in to laud Indian football and their win in the 2023 SAFF Championship.

Here’s how the Cricket fraternity reacted to India’s 9th SAFF Championship win: 

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