Mumbai: It was a night when fans filled the stadium for the second time in the tournament to watch India play New Zealand. Most of them had come to watch Sunil Chhetri play who had completed his 100th appearance for the national side on Monday.
Despite a long season with Bengaluru FC and having secured a final berth Chhetri chose to play for his fans though coach Stephen Constantine wanted to rest him like he did with seven other regulars on Thursday at Mumbai Football Arena here.
However, at the end of the day fans had to go back bit disappointed as India lost first game at this venue after going down 1-2. However the fans had something to cheer as Chhetri scored and Indian origin Kiwi winger Sarpreet Singh sizzled the crowd with quality play.
The 19-year-old who had just made his national team debut before the Intercontinental Cup was the architect of the win over India. Infact he scored the first goal of the tournament for New Zealand against Kenya in 1-2 defeat. He earned the penalty which Myer Bevan converted in a 1-0 win over Chinese Taipei.
On Thursday, he was at his best from the left wing especially by making threatening runs and opening up the Indian defence freuently.
“I’m happy with how I’m going but there’s always room for improvement. My teammates help me a lot, hopefully, we can get to the final,” the Wellington Phoenix winger said.
