SAFF Championship 2023: India overcome Lebanon 4-2 in penalties to reach final

Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu pulled off a save in the penalty shootout as India defeated Lebanon 42 in a tiebreak following a goalless draw post extra time in the semifinals of the SAFF Championship at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on SaturdayThe victory booked the hosts their spot in the summit clash of the competition where they will meet KuwaitIndia will defend their SAFF Championship title against Kuwait at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on TuesdayGurpreet saved the first penalty for Lebanon by Maatouk giving the Indian penalty takers the confidence to put their spotkicks into the back of the net Chhetri Anwar Mahesh and Udanta converted their first four penalties for India while Walid Shour and Mohamad Sadek netted their kicks for Lebanon Khalil Bader sent the fourth and last penalty for Lebanon into the stands sending India into the finalLebanon and India faced each other twice last month in Intercontinental Cup with the latter keeping two clean sheets and winning one tie The Cedars started the SAFF Championship semifinal with a lot of impetus looking to break their duck against an Indian defence that was without experienced centreback Sandesh Jhingan who was suspended having picked up two bookings in the group stage Mehtab Singh came in as the replacement for the 29yearoldAlso missing for India were striker Rahim Ali and head coach Igor Stimac both of whom had been sent off in their last match against KuwaitBoth teams created several chances but could not find the back of the netNader Matar had the opportunity to put Lebanon in the lead in the first minute itself after being played into the sixyard box His volley however lacked any semblance of control and flew off into the Bengaluru nightZain Al Abidine Farran had another chance in the opening exchanges but India keeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu stood in Lebanons way this timeWeathering the early storm India looked to change the tempo of the game as they tried to keep the ball and slow down the pace Mehtab picked up an early booking as he tried to keep Hassan Maatouk outThe Blue Tigers soon altered their system pushing Jeakson Singh back between the two centrebacks while in possession More importantly it was when they were out of possession that they really tightened the screws on Lebanon pressing high with captain Sunil Chhetri leading from the frontIndia came closest to taking the lead with three minutes of regulation time left when a dangerous corner by Mahesh Naorem struck Zain on the head and the ball proceeded to crash into the woodwork Udanta Singh soon replaced Ashique Kuruniyan in injury time before the referee blew the long whistle which meant that the two teams would have another 30 minutes to decide the matterIt was time to dig deep and 38yearold Sunil Chhetri did dig deep indeed as he drove his way into the Lebanon box at the start of extra time but Lebanon keeper Khalil was on hand to keep him out The India captain shot over the crossbar minutes later off a cross from Udanta the scores were still undisturbedThe tides turned in the second half of extra time with Lebanon having a go at India Substitute Khalil Bader had a crack from long range sending his effort wide Maatouk also got into a dangerous position for sending in a cross from the right but Mehtab Singh was on hand to clear itIndia however slowly began to claw their way back and Rohit initiated a brilliant counterattack that saw Udanta enter the Lebanon box He sold a couple of stepovers before running out of real estate as Lebanon keeper Khalil came off his line to smother the ballLebanon anticipating the impending penalty shootout brought on substitute goalkeeper Ali Sabeh in place of Mehdi Khalil in injury time of extra time The two teams soon ran out of time as the referee blew his whistle sending the match into the dreaded penalty shootout which eventually India won the match thanks to Gurpreet Singh Sandhus heroicsAlso Read Kuwait crush Bangladesh 10 to roar into SAFF Championship 2023 finalThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever