The 37-year-old, who overtook the legendary Pele in the number of international goals with his 79th strike in the ongoing SAFF Championships.
Sunil Chhetri scored a brace against Maldives during the SAFF Championship game on Wednesday and went past Pele in list of top international goalscorers.
Chhetri scored in the 62nd and 71st minutes after Manvir Singh had given India the lead in the 33rd minute in the must-win match for India.
India have so far scored two goals in the ongoing SAFF Championships and both came through 37-year-old Chhetri, who equalled legendary Pele with his 77th strike in the match against Nepal.
Chhetri, 37, equalled the legendary Pele when his 83rd-minute strike helped India beat Nepal 1-0 and saved his side from elimination in the SAFF Championship.
The 37-year-old Chhetri, playing in his 121st match for India, struck in the 27th minute to place himself just a goal shy of legendary Brazillian Pele (77 goals from 92 matches).
The 37-year-old Chhetri is set to appear in his fifth SAFF Championship and before its kick off, he took a walk down the memory lane and picked his favourites from the tournament.
It was Choudhary who put India ahead in the 62nd minute while Chhetri (80th) doubled the lead of the visitors.
India are scheduled to play Nepal on September 2 and September 5 in two away games.
IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) also extended birthday wishes to Chhetri.
Chhetri has played 118 international matches, scoring 74 goals, both Indian records. Bala Devi, meanwhile, became the first Indian woman footballer to play for a top-flight league in Europe (Scotland).
Chhetri, who has scored 74 goals from 118 matches for India, said he now feels BFC and the city as 'just like home'.
Top Indian football striker Sunil Chhetri has signed a new two-year contract with Bengaluru FC that will keep him with the Indian Super League (ISL) side until 2023.
Chhetri is also just one goal off entering the all-time top-10 list of goal-scorers, something he can easily achieve against Afghanistan, if not a hat-trick.
The 36-year-old Chhetri has more than once brushed aside any comparison with Messi whom he has overtaken to be the second highest international goal-scorer among active players.
India rode on a Sunil Chhetri brace to down Bangladesh 2-0 here on Monday for their first away win in a World Cup qualifier in 20 years.
Chhetri, who has now taken his international tally of goals to 74 in 117 matches, spoke about the virtues of playing more passes.
The 36-year-old, who scored two superb goals against Bangladesh to lead India to a 2-0 win in the World Cup qualifier match in Doha on Monday, also refrained from setting any long-term targets.
Chhetri went past Argentine maestro Lionel Messi as the second most prolific scorer among active footballers with his 74th strike for the country in his 117th match.
Chhetri is the only Indian player to have scored his international goals in three decades. He scored his first goal against Cambodia on August 17, 2007, in a Nehru Cup match.
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