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India claimed the third spot in the Kings Cup following a 1-0 victory over the hosts Thailand. An early goal in the first half from the young Anirudh Thapa proved to be the difference between the two sides.
It was a frustrating game for Thailand, who were not able to properly utilize their opportunities in the final third.
The Indian defence stood up to the task to nullify the attackers and gain a clean sheet for the first time under their manager Igor Stimac.
On the other hand, after a lamentable outing against Curacao last time, India will be proud of their performance to make small corrections and bag the victory.
The midfield consisting of Raynier Fernandes, Vinith Rai, and Anirudh Thapa looked impressive as they were able to hold up and move the ball quickly when needed.
In this article, we shall look at the Five hits and Flops during India's 1-0 victory over Thailand in the Kings Cup.
#1 Hit - Adil Khan
Adil Khan was the best player on the pitch for India today. The defender was a brick wall in the backline to protect the goalkeeper from being tested often.
When Thailand ran past Rahul Bheke, Sumanya was present inside the six-yard box to shoot the ball. The forward had his fair say, but Adil blocked the shot in an extraordinary way to prevent him from scoring.
In a foot race with Thitipan, Adil Khan raced inside his own box and cleared the ball out for a corner. Moments before the full-time whistle, the defender made yet another timely intervention to pluck the ball off the attacker's right leg to cut down the potential threat.
When Sandesh Jhingan was out of position at times, he made brilliant recoveries to cover his mistakes.
Besides his tremendous defensive performance, he was able to whoop the ball into the dangerous area for the only goal of the match. When he had an opportunity to play the ball into a menacing position, he did that with perfection to thread the ball to Anirudh Thapa. The midfielder had a simpler task to tap the ball in from close range.
#2 Flop - Supachai Jaided
Supachai Jaided played his 15th game for Thailand today. The striker had excellent chances to convert in the first half, but blew away all of them.
Besides his contributions towards the final third, Supachai's off the ball movements did not subsidize the team.
Between the first half water break and halftime whistle, Thailand created many chances, but they were not able to take any of those. When they had momentum on their side, they were not able to take full advantage of it and get back into the game.
Supachai had two chances, more than any other player and managed to get bullied by Adil Khan, who must be the Man of the Match for a scintillating display.
The Thailand manager pushed for an equalizer and made his first substitution five minutes before the halftime. But, the forwards including Supachai Jaided were tame in the final third.
#3 Hit - Anirudh Thapa
Anirudh Thapa looked in scintillating touch for India. The midfielder was technically above the rest and got the much-deserved goal in the first half.
When Adil Khan squared up and put the ball in a dangerous area, Thapa was present inside the six yard box to score from close range.
The 21-year-old was an attacking midfielder, but none of the front three were in the wavelength of Thapa. When Thailand were piling the pressure on India during a certain period, their corner was cleared in a dramatic way.
Thapa, who was standing in the near post, had to use his trailing leg to block and clear the ball from danger. His two immense contributions proved to be the difference in this game.
In the injury time of the first half, Thapa's headed clearance assisted the forwards to break in a one-on-one situation. But, Farukh's ball did not have the required pace to meet Balwant Singh. This helped the goalkeeper to clear the ball.
#4 Flop - Rahul Bheke
Rahul Bheke, who was opted as a centre-back against Curacao, operated through his orthodox right-back position. The 28-year-old struggled to cope up the attack of Thailand as they exploited the right side of Indian defence.
The right-back was caught in no mans land often in the first half which forced Sandesh Jhingan or Adil Khan to do the spare work at the back. He is a terrific defender, but Bheke was not able to keep up with Thailand's pace.
He is also known for his attacking adriotness, but Stimac had asked his full-backs to not get exposed by leaving huge gap at the back while attacking. This had nullified Bheke's attacking threat, although there was no doubt that he was shambolic defensively.
Besides, not getting proper covering from Farukh, Bheke had many chances to get his basic defending right.
#5 Hit - Sumanya Purisai
Sumanya Purisai started through the left wing, but drifted inside during the second half. The Thailand International was a constant headache for Rahul Bheke as he produced some neat and tidy passes to split the backline of India.
Thai forwards had many promising positions, but they lacked incisiveness in the final third. That was a major downfall in their game.
Purisai was linking the midfield and attack in the second half and did not look as effective as he did in the first half.
The 32-year-old was constantly threatening by slotting crosses from the left hand side, but the forwards were struggling to find their final touch, which mattered the most.
Individually, Purisai had an extraordinary game, but the whole side let him down.
He took set pieces, but none of the air balls was able to go past Sandesh Jhingan and Adil Khan. The duo dealt with the air balls exceptionally to dent Thailand's hopes of scoring.
