As both halves concluded yesterday at the Shree Chhatrapati Shivaji Sports Complex (Balewadi Stadium), Pune, it turned out to be a stalemate for India as they hosted Nepal in an international friendly. Many missed chances were rued by both sides, as the score remained 0 – 0 at full-time.

The men in blue dominated possession in the first half, with quite a few good shots on goal. However, they failed to convert any chance as the Nepalese defence put up a good front. Eugeneson Lyngdoh (FC Pune City) was the go-to guy for all free-kicks while Francis Fernandes, Robin Singh (both Delhi Dynamos FC), Narayan Das, Pronoy Halder (both FC Goa), and Jeje Lalpekhlua (Chennaiyin FC) kept the ball in motion for the team. Halder even marked his debut for the national team.

The best chance of the first half for India was on the 44th minute when Sunil Chhetri (Mumbai City FC) took charge of a loose ball and sped ahead with it. However, after getting inside the Nepalese box, a one-on-one with goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu spurned his chances of going one-up.

As the second half began, Karanjit Singh (Chennaiyin FC) replaced Subrata Paul (Mumbai City FC) between the posts, and Lyngdoh got substituted by Rowlin Borges. The Nepalese counterattack would become more visible as Rohit Chand and Sushil KC took a few jabs at the Indian goalpost. They improved upon their previous half efforts with good, short passes and timely intercepts.

Rowlin and Cavin Lobo (Kerala Blasters FC), who was passed the baton by Halder, tried to create a few chances in the second half but to no avail. Two good chances for India were to be seen towards the end – Chhetri’s free-kick on the 89th minute which couldn’t be converted by a Sandesh Jhingan-header, and CK Vineeth (for Jeje) on the 93rd minute whose run in the box following a Chhetri pass was marred by Nepal. Both Jhingan and Vineeth will turn out for Kerala in the Hero ISL 2015.

At the end of the second half, as the scoreline read 0 – 0, the Himalayan Highlanders got a better share of ball possession and increased upon their shots on goal. It was a thoughtful gesture on AIFF’s part to organize a friendly for the earthquake-hit nation, as the booming, raucous crowds kept the spirit of the game alive.

The game served well for India in the form of a practice match, as they go up against ‘Giants of Asia’ Iran in the 2018 World Cup Qualifying match at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on September 8th.