Defending champions India take on Kuwait gunning for a ninth SAFF Championship title in the summit clash at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru, later today.The Kanteerava is expected to be a cauldron with a highly partisan crowd supporting the ‘Blue Tigers’ against the competitive Kuwaitis.
India and Kuwait had clashed in the group stage of the tournament as well where they had played out a hard-fought 1-1 draw.The Road to the Final wasn’t easy for both these talented outfits. The Indian team had to wait until the penalties to carve out a 4-2 victory over Lebanon in the semifinals after finishing regulation time at 0-0.
Kuwait overcome a tough Bangladesh challenge in first semi-final:
In the first semifinal, Kuwait were tested by a tough Bangladesh side before the former prevailed 1-0 to book a spot in the final. The worrying aspect as far as the Indian team and its adoring fans is concerned is the fitness considering the fact that they are playing games that have gone down to the wire back-to-back. India’s assistant coach Mahesh Gawli offered his two cents on the concerns and sought to allay them.“I’d like to say that if you get one week, you can’t do anything. But when you get one month or more you work more on fitness,’’ Gawli said.
“I think we had almost 50 days. Our strength and conditioning coach, Luka Radman, has done a wonderful job. We have seen our players playing without injuries and there have been no cramps as well,’’ he added. JHINGAN RETURNSThe game changer for India could be the much-needed return of star defender Sandesh Jhingan. He had missed the semifinal against Lebanon owing to two accumulated yellow cards against Pakistan and Kuwait.
India holds the edge despite Igor Stimac's absence:
Jhingan was replaced in the starting eleven by Anwar Ali, who did a terrific job by thwarting Lebanese advances and guarding the Indian backline effectively. India’s head coach Igor Stimac will be unavailable for the all-important summit clash and will not be seen in the dug-out.
The Croatian was slapped with a two-match ban by the SAFF disciplinary committee after he was shown his second red card of the tournament against Kuwait.India and Kuwait have equal chances based on their talent and skill but India definitely hold the edge considering the vociferous home support that will come their way.
