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21-year-old Lalrindika Ralte undoubtedly scored the best goal of the AFC Cup semi-final first leg between Kuwait SC and East Bengal which the hosts won 4-2. It also turned out to be a milestone goal for the Mizoram youngster as he broke one record and equaled another.
The superb strike was Lalrindika’s fourth of this year’s AFC Cup which breaks the record of most goals scored by an Indian in a single edition. It was previously held by his current East Bengal teammate Baljit Sahni, who netted once in each of the three home games for the red-and-gold brigade in the 2011 edition.
Lalrindika now is also India’s all-time joint-top scorer in the AFC Cup as he has equaled Bhaichung Bhutia’s tally. Although Indian clubs have been playing in Asia’s Europa League since 2004, the goal scoring has been mainly done by the foreigners.
Salgaocar are the only exception in this regard as the majority of their goals in their only AFC Cup campaign in 2012 was scored by Indian players. Five different Indians got on the scoresheet for the Goan club and they only managed six goals in as many games and got eliminated in the group stage
Bhaichung’s modest tally of just four goals was the best for an Indian since 2007 until Lalrindika finally matched that on Tuesday and the current India international still has at least another game in this edition to surpass the Indian football icon.
The table below shows India’s top scorers in the AFC Cup
| Lalrindika Ralte * | 4 |
| Bhaichung Bhutia | 4 |
| Baljit Sahni * | 3 |
| Clifford Miranda | 3 |
| Shanmugham Venkatesh | 3 |
* Both Lalrindika Ralte and Baljit Sahni achieved their respective tallies in a single edition thus Lalrindika now holds the record for most goals by an Indian in a single edition.
East Bengal’s run ends
Meanwhile East Bengal’s nine-game unbeaten run in the 2013 AFC Cup also finally ended on Tuesday. Coming into the semi-finals, the Kolkata giants were the only remaining unbeaten team of this edition. Had they avoided defeat on Tuesday, the 93-year-old club could have become only the fourth side to be unbeaten for at least 10 games in a single edition of the AFC Cup.
The Kolkata club still have a 100 percent home record in this edition and the brilliant unbeaten streak has earned them a place in the illustrious list below.
Best unbeaten runs in a single edition of the AFC Cup (East Bengal is the only non-West Asian club in the table below)
| Al Faisaly (Jordan)* | 12 | 2005 |
| Arbil (Iraq) | 11 | 2012 |
| Safa (Lebanon) | 10 | 2008 |
| East Bengal | 9 | 2013 |
| Al Jaish (Syria)* | 9 | 2004 |
| Al Wehdat (Jordan) | 9 | 2007 |
| Al Qadsia (Kuwait) | 9 | 2010 |
| Al Wehdat (Jordan) | 9 | 2011 |
| Arbil (Iraq) | 9 | 2011 |
| Al Ettifaq (Saudi Arabia) | 9 | 2012 |
* Only Al Faisaly and Al Jaish went on to win the competition that year
