India Defeat Nepal 2-1 in International Friendly

Goals from Farukh Choudhary and Sunil Chhetri helped India to a 2-1 win over Nepal in an international friendly.

After a goalless first-half, the Blue Tigers broke the deadlock just past the hour mark, with Choudhary, who had come on in the second half, firing India ahead. Chhetri headed Chinglensana Singh's long ball into the path of Choudhary, who made no mistake and found the back of the net.

Chhetri then sealed India's win with their second goal of the match in the 80th minute. A quick counter-attack saw Chhetri with acres of space in front of him, and the Indian skipper coolly slotted home to give Igor Stimac's side a two-goal lead.

India though could not see off the game in the way they would have wanted to as Nepal returned one and halved their deficit in the the 87th minute. Tej Tamang's thunderous strike from outside the box left Amrinder Singh flat-footed in India's goal, and Nepal had found a way back into the game.

However, India maintained their one-goal lead for the remainder of the game and registered a 2-1 victory. India and Nepal had played out a 1-1 draw earlier this month, and this result will surely come as a welcome news for the Indian coach Stimac. However, it was not a flawless performance from the Indian side as they let Nepal back into the game, and there is still room for improvement for the Blue Tigers ahead of the upcoming SAFF Championship.

Meanwhile, Chhetri took his international goal tally to 75 with his strike against Nepal, and is just one short of Lionel Messi, who is third in the list of active players with most international goals.