India thrash Chinese Taipei 5-0 in opener

India skipper Sunil Chhetri (right) battles for the ball with Chinese Taipei's Wei-Chuan Chen at the Mumbai Football Arena. Pic/PTI

Captain Sunil Chhetri led from the front with a hat-trick as hosts India flexed their muscles and outplayed Chinese Taipei 5-0 to begin their campaign on a rousing note in the four-nation Intercontinental Cup yesterday.

Chhetri, India's all-time highest scorer, led by example once again, scoring in the 14th, 34th and 62nd minute of the opener at the Mumbai Football Arena. This was Chhetri's third hat-trick in international football, and first in eight years. The India skipper's teammate at Bengaluru FC, Udanta Singh, netted the other goal in the 48th minute, in what was a thoroughly dominant display by Stephen Constantine's men.

While Pronay Halder completed the rout of Chinese Taipei by finding the back of the net with his 78th minute long ranger from the edge of the box. "We are really happy with the result but 2019 Asian Cup is our main target," Chhetri said after the game.

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