Still great at 38, Sunil Chhetri won't stop so soon!

A huge banner tied across the West Block Blues Stand read lsquoImmortal No 11rsquo It was a heartfelt tribute to Sunil Chhetri by the fans who cheered every move the Indian captain made on the fieldSome of them invaded the turf multiple times trying to get close to Chhetri even as he was leading Indiarsquos 40 buccaneering against Pakistan during the SAFF Championship match at the Sree Kanteerava StadiumMassive crowdpullerWhat makes Chhetri a crowdpuller then He is 38 a stage when players generally think of pursuing less stressful options than playing football and follow rigid fitness plans But his performance on the field still does not have any reflection of his ageLast Saturday India conquered Lebanon a team that stands higher on FIFA Rankings 20 in the Intercontinental Cup final at Odisha and it was Chhetri who put the team on the track to win with the first goalThe situation was no different on a rainblanched Wednesday at Bengaluru Crowd that filled the stadium to the rafters did not want anything less than a win and Chhetri could not have missed that vibeAlso Read What makes captain Sunil Chhetri a force to be reckoned withThe whole India v Pakistan narrative that has been running for decades now too might have fuelled Chhetrirsquos desire to own the grand stage He had offered us a peek at that feeling inside of himldquoBefore the Pakistan match whenever we met the boys it was all hunky dory Even when I was in Pakistan once or twice we were all fine and friendly They speak Punjabi and we speak Punjabi the moment the whistle blows I donrsquot know what happensrdquo Chettri had said in an ISL videoldquoItrsquos by default just the sense of anyone but them Maybe itrsquos ingrained in our upbringing as Indians and Irsquom pretty sure they will say the same thing The hostility the fact that we donrsquot want to lose against them comes inrdquo he addedChhetri is an apex predator with a natural sense for the goal 90 goals from 138 matches for India will vouch for that and the striker is now 4th on the all time highest international goalscorer list behind Cristiano Ronaldo 123 Ali Daei 109 and Lionel Messi 103Cheetahlike movesThat instinct was on full view when he scored the first goal against Pakistan last night Pakistan player Abullah Iqbal pushed the ball back to goalkeeper Saqib Hanif and Chhetri followed that pass like a cheetah hunting a deer in those Kruger videosThirty eight became a mere number for Chhetri at that moment and for many of us too who still adore a 20something man who made his India debut against the same opponent in QuettaPerturbed by Chhetrirsquos burst towards him Hanif erred in clearing the ball and the Indian needed no second invitation to capitalise on the chance gifted to him The two ensuing penalty kicks might have been a canter for someone with Chhetrirsquos skills90No of goals India skipper Sunil Chhetri has scored in 138 matchesThis 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