India’s Rahul Bheke and Nepal’s Bimal Gharti Magar sparked off a melee during their match at the SAFF Championship at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The incident happened in the 64th minute of the match as Bheke and Magar went up for a header and the former landed awkwardly.
SAFF Championship: India vs Nepal – HIGHLIGHTS
On getting up, Bheke charged at Magar prompting other players of India and Nepal to get into the scuffle.
WATCH:
Bheke needs to control himself there pic.twitter.com/P0LVwt3lZ0— Atharvaa (@Heisenberg_FCG) June 24, 2023
Minutes earlier, Sunil Chhetri handed India the lead after a delightful low cross from the left was played in by Mahesh Singh Naorem. Chhetri calmly slotted the ball past the keeper and into the back of the net to make it 1-0 to India in the 61st minute.
61′ AND FINALLY HERE IT COMES!Simplest of jobs for our captain Sunil Chhetri to tap in an inch-perfect low ball from Mahesh
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@FanCode & DD Bharati #NEPIND ⚔️ #SAFFChampionship2023 #BlueTigers #IndianFootball ⚽️
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 24, 2023
Come the 70th minute, it was Mahesh who got his name on the scoresheet with Chhetri turning provider.
70′ GOAAAALLL!Chhetri’s attempt is deflected onto the crossbar by Limbu before Mahesh bundles the ball into the net for his first India goal!
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@FanCode & DD Bharati #NEPIND ⚔️ #SAFFChampionship2023 #BlueTigers #IndianFootball ⚽️
— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) June 24, 2023
India coach Igor Stimac had stopped a Pakistan player from taking the throw-in and knocked the ball out of his hand, in the previous game, which started on-field altercations between the players of both sides. He was sent off.
India, with the 2-0 win over Nepal, booked their place in the semi-finals.
In fact, traditionally, India has had the upper hand over Nepal in terms of the head-to-head record. The two sides have faced each other 15 times previously, with the Blue Tigers emerging victorious 10 times, while Nepal has managed to win only once. The remaining four matches have ended in draws.
In their most recent five meetings, the Blue Tigers have secured victories four times, with the other game resulting in a draw. The latest encounter between the two teams occurred in 2021 during the SAFF Championship Final, where India emerged triumphant with a convincing 3-0 scoreline.
The India men’s football team had thumped arch-rivals Pakistan 4-0 in their first group-stage match on Wednesday, after Kuwait beat Nepal 3-1 in the tournament opener. Earlier in the day, Kuwait thrashed Pakistan 4-0 to all but book their place in the semi-finals.
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