India captain Sunil Chhetri on Wednesday showed once again why he is regarded as one of the greatest footballers from the country as he led from the front in the team's crushing 4-0 win against Pakistan in the SAFF Cup 2023.
Chhetri netted a hat-trick while Udanta scored the fourth goal as India opened their campaign in the tournament with a bang in Bengaluru.
India took a 2-0 lead in the first half thanks to Chhetri's goals in the 10th and 16th minute.
He scored the first goal after taking full advantage of an error from the Pakistan goalkeeper Saqib Hanif to find the empty net.
Chhetri then doubled the lead six minutes later after a handball from a Pakistani player inside his team's box.
Things got a bit heated between the two sides after India coach Igor Stimac prevented a Pakistani player from taking a throw-in at the touchline which led to a scuffle between the players.
The incident occurred in the 45th minute after which Stimac was handed a red card by the referee while his Pakistani counterpart was shown a yellow card.
Sunil Chhetri's fourth hat-trick for India
The match resumed with India dominating possession after the break as well and it didn't take long for Chhetri to complete his fourth hat-trick for the Blue Tigers, with some help from the Pakistanis.
He was brought down inside Pakistan's box after a heavy tackle by the defender which resulted in a penalty for India.
Chhetri converted it in the 72nd minute before Udanta added the final goal in the 81st minute to cap off a clinical performance from the Blue Tigers.
"It's always very good to keep a clean-sheet and win the match, tough conditions to play on but what a win that too in front of this crowd, thanks to them they turned up - this is what we play for," Chhetri said after the match.
The 38-year-old now has 90 goals for India, putting him fourth on the list of highest international scorers behind Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo (123), Iran legend Ali Daei (109) and Argentina's World Cup-winning skipper Lionel Messi (103).
Chhetri surpassed Malaysia's Mokhtar Dahari (89) after the hat-trick.
