10-man Bangladesh snatched a point against tournament favourites India as their group phase match of the SAFF Championship ended in a 1-1 draw at the Male National Football Stadium in Maldives on Monday.
India captain Sunil Chhetri gave Indians the lead in the 26th minute and Bangladesh’s dreams of bouncing back into the contest got slimmer when their defender Bishwanath Ghosh got sent in the 54th minute.
But Oscar Bruzon’s resilient charges showed tremendous spirit as they kept India from asserting their dominance with a one-man advantage.
The Bangladesh team got rewarded for their unwavering spirit when defender Yeasin Arafat sent the ball home in the 74th minute from a corner, which earned Bangladesh an invaluable point against the seven-time SAFF champions.
Jamal Bhuiyan’s team kept out the Indian side for the remaining minutes and even had a chance of snatching a victory in the extra time but the Indian defenders cleared the ball from the box in time.
With the draw, Bangladesh are now topping the five-team table with four points.
They had earlier defeated Sri Lanka 1-0 in the tournament opener.
