India vs Nepal, SAFF Championship 2023 Highlights: IND beat NEP 2-0, through to semi-finals

India are through to the semi-finals of the 2023 SAFF Championships. Nepal and Pakistan are out. 

90 mins: India haven't really had too many issues dealing with them. Clearly whatever Gawli said at half time has worked wonders. India have been a different team altogether. Four minutes of added time. 

Sahal taken off for Rahim Ali. He had been much better in the second half, Rahim comes on and wins a free kick straightaway. India just looking to see it home now. 

Nepal, in typical Vicenzo Annese style, are hardly rolling over. Ayush Ghalan makes his way into the box from the left, dips a shoulder and runs to the byline to try and square it in. He does so, only to find Bheke who clears the danger. 

75 mins: Chhangte makes his way into the box on the right, tries to square it from the byline but Limbu palms it out for a corner. Jeakson Singh then gets in a gun of header but it is straight at the Nepal captain.

Well file that under unusual goals please. Sunil Chhetri receives the ball inside the box but takes a second too much to release the shot, tries chippping it in and it deflects off Limbu over the bar... but not out! It bounces back and Mahesh is there to head it home. All quite scrappy but India have two goals and one foot in the semi-finals.

64 mins: Rahul Bheke and Bimal Magar are at the centre of the giant press of bodies. Magar jumped over Bheke to challenge for a lofted ball, leaving the latter on the floor and quite angry. He gets up and rushes at the Nepalese No.10 and the two have some choice words to say to each other before about a hundred people come in between the two. This was right after India made two changes, Rohit and Udanta are taken off for Jeakson Singh and Lallianzuala Chhangte

Of course it is Chhetri who breaks the deadlock. India bring a move to fruition at last. Good one-two between Sahal and Mahesh and the latter is freed down the left, he squares it in along the ground, Chhetri arrives and turns it in. 91st goal for the Indian legend and India take the lead.

60 mins: No doubt that India have had more of the ball today but the Nepal goalkeeper has hardly had any saves to make throughout the first hour of this match, which doesn't say too many nice things about the hosts. 

52 mins: Sahal's shot deflected away but India have a tiny shout for penalty after Mahesh was crowded out inside the box. Referee points to the corner flag at which point Gawli in the technical area turns to the crowd and waves his hands in the universal gesture for “Kindly make some more noise please thank you!”

Nepal are pressing high and and Sanish swung one in from the right. Mishra cleared but Nepal come down the left flank, that attack ends with a loose shot.

Nepal were the first ones to return and the Indians came a while back. Nepal will kick off the second half. Let's hope for some better football. 

India have been awful in attack and some of those players could use a hiding from the coaches in the dressing room. This is a worrisome pattern for India, they may have beaten Pakistan 4-0 but they made an absolute mess of a number of chances that the leaky Pakistan defence had provided. Here as well, the attackers' decision making has been circumspect. Sahal Abdum Samad has to be told that passing is actually something you can do while going on the attack. There has to be an improvement in the second half, for if India continue to play this way, there is no chance of them scoring today. 

39 mins: Nepal's Manish Dangi snatches the ball from a sleeping Mahesh in midfield and India are totally caught out. Dangi tries to square it once he reaches the box but the ball stuck into the grass making it easy for an Indian defender to kick away. That provoked a counter attack, Sahal had the ball on his feet, Mahes was totally open on his left. But Sahal decided to hold on to the ball, trying to dribble away to where only he knows and he loses the ball. Sahal's decision making has been a bit of a problem for India today. 

Free kick for India from the left, Chhetri puts into the mixer in the box and the ball is headed out by a Nepalese defender. It falls to Pujari from miles out and he goes for a wild hail mary. The ball soared so high it has probably reached the Bengaluru airport now. 

Chhetri gave the Nepalese goalkeeper Kiran Kumar Limbu a scare by charging at him but the latter was far more assured than the Pakistani goalkeeper was in the previous game. Apart from that, really can't say which team has been better, attacking quality has come at a premium.

17 mins: Corner for Nepal from the left, it is headed out of the box and Arik Bista comes charging in to the ball, takes a thunderbuster volley on the full and Sandhu dives to his left to smother the ball. 

15 mins: Both coming for Sahal. First Sahal receives the ball inside the D, goes one way then the other to put a couple of Nepal defenders on their back side but he delays his shot and it is taken care of. India come again, this time with Mishra charging down the right and squaring it in, Sahal gets at the end of it but can't quite connect. 

13 mins: And arguably with far more control, they are currently passing the ball around between the defenders in their own half. Nepal looking to attack on the counter at the moment but the game seemed to have settled into India maintaining the possession. 

9 mins: There have been a couple of balls coming in from the right and the left to the middle. Nepal have been able to deal with the crosses thus far but India putting their foot down a bit.

Neither side really having a grip on the game and the rain hasn't done any favours for the flow of the game. 

India in their orange away colours attacking from right to left, Nepal in blue. They are rather splendid, the Nepal shirts, all blue with an outline of the Himalayas painted accross their chests. 

Rain is steadily intensifying as the two sides line up in the middle for their respective national anthems. First comes Nepal's Sayaun Thunga Phulka and then India's Jana Gana Mana. 

Gurpreet returns to his place between the posts, Amrinder had been India's goalkeeper against Pakistan. Rahul Bheke and Mehtab Singh are the centre backs in front of him. Nikhil Poojary and Akash Mishra are the full backs. Sahal Abdul Samad, Anirudh Thapa and Sunil Chhetri retain their places.

It's not a one-way street at the Kanteerava today. There was a sizeable cheer from the stands as the Nepalese contingent made its way out for their warm-ups.