3 times Sandesh Jhingan was a rock at the back for the Indian national team

An Arjuna awardee, a winner of the AIFF Player of the Year, once adjudged the ISL Emerging Player of the Season, there are very few feathers left now to add to Sandesh Jhingan's already dazzling cap. For close to a decade now, the robust stature of Chandigarh-born center-back has been constantly spotted at the heart of India's defense.

Jhingan's consistency has only been paralleled or rivaled by the numero uno of the Blue Tigers, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, and a certain Sunil Chhetri. Together, they have formed a troika that has become synonymous with the success the nation has tasted in the past decade.

Despite his steady rise to the pinnacle being disrupted by a career-threatening ACL tear and misfired spell abroad, Jhingan has continued to rediscover himself and his endless bag of talent for both club and country.

On his 30th birthday, let's take a look at three times when the veteran stopper turned into a rock at the back for the Indian national team:

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#3 Bangladesh 0-2 India - World Cup 2022 Qualifiers (June 3, 2021)

Albeit Bangladesh aren't the highest quality of opposition India can come up against, in the past, they often had the knack of troubling the Blue Tigers. But during the joint qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup and the 2023 Asian Cup in 2019, India delivered a clinical performance against the neighbors on the way to a clinical 2-0 victory.

In the backline, Sandesh Jhingan displayed his composure and leadership skills in a sporadically-used 3-5-2 formation. Partnering with Chinglensana Singh, a largely inexperienced campaigner then, and Subhasish Bose, who was operating as a makeshift center-back, Jhingan secured a clean sheet for India. The veteran defender registered four clearances and two interceptions, while also blocking an opposition effort.

More importantly, he completed 88 percent of his passes and 100 percent of his aerial duels.

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#2 Qatar 0-0 India - World Cup 2022 Qualifiers (September 10, 2019)

This will forever be remembered as Gurpreet Singh Sandhu's match for the veteran custodian's exploits between the sticks.

However, there was also a certain Sandesh Jhingan who was marshaling the defensive lines in front of him. Alongside Rahul Bheke, Adil Khan, and Mandar Rao Desai, the former Kerela Blasters FC defender put on a gritty shift against the elite Qatari attackers.

As the Asian heavyweights continued to create multiple opportunities, India needed a gargantuan performance from Jhingan to cut their efforts down and aid Gurpreet on certain occasions.

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#1 India 0-1 Qatar - World Cup 2022 Qualifiers (June 7, 2021)

It's very hard to ignore the two performances against Qatar whenever the pinnacle of India's defensive performances is mentioned.

Many had adjudged the performance in the goalless draw in Doha as a fluke. But when Qatar returned to India, two years later, Igor Stimac's men showcased that Blue Tigers weren't going to be pushovers.

The World Cup 2022 hosts, even with their ample offensive options, found it laborious to break down India's defense, which was already a man down after Rahul Bheke received his second yellow in the 17th minute of the game. Soon after Abdelaziz Hatem managed to give the visitors a lead but India remained determined to not go down without a fight.

Alongside the heroics of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Sandesh Jhingan put in one of his finest performances in the national color to strangulate the Qatari attack for the rest of the match.

The FC Goa center-back made seven clearances, two interceptions, two crunching tackles, and blocked four shots. The burly defender showcased on the continental stage that India weren't ready to back down from challenges anymore.