Captain Chhetri scores hat trick in ill-tempered 4-0 win for India over Pakistan
BANGALORE, India (AP) — Captain Sunil Chhetri scored a hat trick in an ill-tempered 4-0 win for India over rival Pakistan in the group stage of the South Asian Football Federation Cup on Wednesday.
The Pakistan players, who mostly arrived hours before the game due to visa problems, looked jet-lagged and short of practice. It's the Pakistan soccer team’s first visit to India since 2014 when it drew a two-match series.
Tempers flared when India coach Igor Stimac was shown a red card for knocking the ball out of a Pakistan player’s hands before a throw-in toward the end of the first half.
India led 2-0 at halftime on the back of early goals from Chhetri.
Chhetri completed his hat trick from the penalty spot after he was fouled. Udanta Singh added a fourth with a goal 10 minutes from the end.
The SAFF Cup organizers had turned down 95th-ranked Pakistan’s request to reschedule the match because of the delay in issuing visas.
Pakistan and India are in Group A with Kuwait and Nepal.
Lebanon, Maldives, Bhutan and Bangladesh are in Group B.
FIFA lifted a 15-month ban on the Pakistan Football Federation in July last year which had been imposed for third-party interference.
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