Football is a team sport and very often the team that go on to win tournaments and championships are the ones that are greater than the sum of its parts.. The same seems to be the case with this Indian side as they stand on the verge of their second successive trophy in quick succession. While they recently won the Intercontinental Cup in Odisha, they now find themselves in the final of the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru.
Like every good team, the side does not have a single hero. While it has the face of the star power of someone like a Sunil Chhetri, the team's hero on the night of the semifinal against Lebanon was their goalkeeper Gurpreeet Singh Sandhu. India's shot-stopper ensured that it is the hosts who reach the final against an opponent they were meeting for the third time in two weeks.
It was a tight game as the neither teams failed to break the deadlock in the designated 90 minutes. The match then went to extra time where again neither teams failed to find the back of the net forcing the match into the penalty shootouts. It was then that Sandhu showed why he is such a highly-rated glovesman. The Indian goalie produced a couple of brilliant saves as India won 4-2 in penalties to secure a place for themselves in the final against Kuwait. While Sunil Chhetri scored India's first penalty, Sandhu saved the first attempt itself from Lebanon's captain Hassan Maatouk, correctly diving in the right direction and making sure the ball doesn't go past him.
Later, Khalil Bader's kick also went off target with the pressure getting the better of him. The two saves meant India could easily go on to clinch the game. The video of the penalty shootout has gone viral on social media.
Take a look:
India will take on Kuwait in the final of the SAFF Championship at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on July 4 (Tuesday).