IND vs PAK: Sunil Chhetri's hat-trick helps India crush Pakistan by 4-0 in SAFF Championship

Sunil Chhetri's Indian Football team on Wednesday registered a thumping 4-0 win over Pakistan on the opening day of the SAFF Championship 2023. The Indian team dominated the contest throughout and the skipper Chhetri scored a hat-trick as the Blue Tigers steamrolled their opponents. India were also successful in keeping the opposition at bay as they maintained yet another clean sheet at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

Having already won the Intercontinental Cup a few days ago, India carried on their form in the SAFF Championship. The first of their success came when the Pakistani goalkeeper made a big error in losing the ball infront of the box with Indian skipper Chhetri waiting for his chance. The Indian captain got the ball to put it past the keeper and send India 1-0. Moments later, Chhetri converted the



1-0 lead to a 2-0 with a penalty strike.

However, there was bit of a scuffle in the match as the Pakistan players and the Indian head coach Igor Stimac confronted each other in the first half. The opening half ended with India 2-0.

In the second half too, India did not put the pedal off the gas. They pushed for more chances and Sunil Chhetri received yet another penalty with an attack from a Pakistan player in the box. Chhetri maxmised the chance to put India 3-0 up with his 90th International Goal. Later, Udanta Singh managed to keep them away from offside and he put another past the goalkeeper to kill the game 4-0.

The Indian team will now face Nepal in the second game of the tournament on June 24, followed by the final league game of the hosts against Kuwait on June 27.