Sunil Chhetri in action during an Intercontinental Cup match
Skipper Sunil Chhetri made it a fairytale 100th international game with a double strike as India recorded a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Kenya to enter the final of the Intercontinental Cup football tournament in Mumbai on Monday.
After a barren first half, Chhetri, who scored a hat-trick in India's 5-0 rout of Chinese Taipei the other day, broke the deadlock in the 68th minute by calmly converting from the spot after the hosts were awarded a controversial penalty.
Jeje Lalpekhlua then doubled India's lead in the 71st minute after Holicharan Narzary's low cross wasn't properly cleared by the Kenyan defence before the Mizo Sniper latched on to the loose ball and a snap right footer crashed into the far corner of the net.
The hosts continued to dominate and increased their tally in the additional time when Chhetri (91st) after receiving a perfect cross-field assist from Balwant Singh, sprinted down the middle before chipping it over a surging Kenyan custodian.
India breakaway on the counter and Chhetri gets in behind a struggling Kenyan defence to chip the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper into the net to hand the hosts a comfortable victory.
Already assured of a place in the final, India will next play higher-ranked New Zealand in their last round-robin fixture on Thursday.
