SAFF Championship 2023: India rely on Chhetri magic to defeat Lebanon in semis

India will bank on the incredible form and striking prowess of their talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri to tame a formidable Lebanon in the SAFF Championship 2023 semifinal here on SaturdayIndia the defending champions and eighttime winners of the championship entered the semis as the secondplaced team behind Kuwait from Group A while Lebanon topped Group B in their march to the lastfour stageChhetri has been Indias primary weapon in this tournament as he has so far netted five goals from three matches to sit on top of the goalscorers list The count of goals includes a hattrick against PakistanThe sensational tumbling volley against Kuwait during Indias last league match underlined his still burning desire to lead the teams charge Chhetri will have to be on top of his game for India to overcome the Lebanon challenge However this does not mean that others will have a lesser roleThe likes of Sahal Abdul Samad Mahesh Singh and Udanta Singh will have to up the ante to support their skipper All of them have had their moments in the tournament but apart from Chhetri only Udanta and Mahesh have been able to find the targetIndia will be served well if the other players also can chip in with goals as relying on one player even if he is as great as Chhetri against an organised side like Lebanon could prove costlyThe home side will also hope that their defence will continue to work like a welloiled machine as they have conceded only one goal in the last nine matchesAll these factors might not have lost on the Indians as Lebanon are a rather familiar opponent The first meeting between these two sides took place in 1977 and since then they have engaged with each other seven more timesOverall Lebanon hold a 32 edge over India with three matches ending in drawsHowever India can take solace from the fact that their two recent outings against Lebanon fetched positive results India held Lebanon to a goalless draw in the league match of the Intercontinental Cup earlier this month in Odisha and beat them 20 in the tournament finalAlso Read Intercontinental Cup India two good for Lebanon in finalBut then past records have little meaning in the ultracompetitive world of football and India will have to be at their absolute best to beat their West Asian rivals whose quick counterattacks can be a thing of worry They are entering the semis with an allwin record in the group stage having warded off Bhutan Maldives and BangladeshOn the other hand India were stretched by Nepal and Kuwait after a relatively easy outing against PakistanIndia will miss the presence of their head coach Igor Stimac on the touchline after the Croatian was slapped with his second red card of the tournament during the match against KuwaitBut then this India side has shown the penchant to rise over the rough sea and the match against Lebanon will be another occasion for an encoreSaturdays matches Kuwait vs Bangladesh 330 PM India vs Lebanon 730 PMWith PTI inputs