India lose to Oman after taking lead in opening World Cup Qualifier
Guwahati, Sep 5: Captain Sunil Chhetri's early strike went in vain as India surrendered a one-goal advantage to lose 1-2 to Oman in their opening fixture of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers here on Thursday.
The 87-ranked Oman rallied to score twice through Rabia Alawi Al Mandhar in the last eight minutes of regulation time.
The 35-year-old Chhetri, international football's second highest scorer among active players, pushed India ahead in the 24th minute with his 72nd strike.
However, Mandhar broke Indian hearts when he flicked the ball past Gurpreet Singh Sandhu to restore parity in the 82nd minute. More disappointment was in store for the 103-ranked India as Mandhar completed his brace in the 89th minute in a stunning turnaround.
India dominated the first half with more shots at opposition goal and also enjoyed possession.
Ashique Kuruniyan, who returned to the team after missing the Kings Cup and Intercontinental Cup due to injury, created problems for the Oman defence with his pace and trickery in the left channel.
Following one such run down the left flank in the 24th minute, he was fouled by Abdulaziz Al Ghailani and India got a free kick on the left edge of the box.
Brandon Fernandes took the set piece, sent a grounder in the middle of the box and Chhetri fooled his marker to drill in a left-footer into the Oman net, much to the celebration of a vociferous crowd.
Before that, India were denied lead in the 15th minute when Udanta Singh's shot off a Chhetri pass beat the Omani goalkeeper but it struck the crossbar, to the dismay of the home side. Udanta was also denied a goal in a similar fashion against the UAE in the Asian Cup earlier in the year.
There were periods of incessant Indian attack in the first half and central defender Sandesh Jhingan sent the ball over the bar in a free header off a corner taken by Anirudh Thapa in the 20th minute.
Oman pressed hard in the closing stages of the first half and goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu made a great save in the 43rd minute, blocking a Ahmed Kano header in a one-to-one situation to keep India's lead intact.
The visitors made a strong fightback in the second half to leave the home team disappointed.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
