Do join us back on June 15 for the big match as I, Mohak Arora bids you adieu for now!

Sunil Chhetri finds the back of the net for the first time since September 2019 in international football and the Indian skipper has found form at the best possible time with India facing Afghanistan in a match that will decide the fate of the third place in Group E on June 15.

India beat Bangladesh 2-0 courtesy of a Sunil Chhetri brace in the second half and jump to the 3rd position in Group E of AFC joint qualifiers. The Blue Tigers had 72% of the possession and completely bossed the match with the Goan duo of Glan Martins and Brandon Fernandes orchestrating the midfield.

90+4' The Blue Tigers have shut shop here and are heading towards the victory.

90+2' Sunil Chhetri is free in the box and Suresh Singh cuts the ball back for his skipper and the Bengaluru FC forward hits the back of the net for his 74th goal in international football.

90+1' Pronoy Halder and Adil Khan replace Chinglensana Singh and Brandon Fernandes as the fourth referee adds four minutes on the clock.

90' A great passing move sees Sunil Chhetri put a through ball for club teammate Ashique Kuruniyan but his shot is blocked by the goalkeeper.

88' Anisur Rahman pouches a Brandon Fernandes corner safely but India attack again with the goalkeeper catching the ball safely once again.

85' Rahman's cross is straight into the hands of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu who is marshalling and re-assembling his defense after the slip of Sandesh Jhingan which could have proved fatal.

81' The Blue Tigers need to be smart for the remaining minutes in the match and have to focus on not giving away a set-piece, the strength for Bangladesh in these dying minutes.

79' Ashique Kuruniyan's cross finds Sunil Chhetri free at the edge of the 6-yard box and the Indian captain finally finds the back of the net with a glancing header. The veteran forward scores his 73rd goal for India!!

75' Ashique Kuruniyan becomes the first Indian to go in the referee's book tonight as his repeated clashes with Tariq Kazi don't go unnoticed.

74' Mehdi Hasan and Suman Reza come in for Rakib Hossain and Matin Miah as Jamie Day looks to freshen his side.

73' Another precise corner from Brandon Fernandes and Subasish Bose dives in but his glanced header goes wide of the goal.

71' Frustrated by the finishing of his forwards, Brandon Fernandes tries to take a long-range effort at goal but the ball sails well over the crossbar!

70' Glan Martins is on top of the Bangladesh attackers as the Goan gets kicked in the face but the referee decides against taking the cards out of his pocket.

68' The 'Red and Green' have been defending all day and are tiring as the head-coach is not looking interested in making a substitution as of now.

63' The resulting free-kick from Brandon Fernandes finds Sunil Chhetri unmarked in the penalty box and the veteran forward fails to hit the target as the ball flies behind for a goal-kick. DISAPPOINTING FROM CHHETRI!

62' Biplo Ahamed pulls the shirt of Suresh Singh and brings the midfielder down surging down the right flank. The referee has booked the Bangladesh winger.

59' Liston Colaco comes on for Manvir Singh in the third Indian change of the day.

58' Brandon Fernandes find Sunil Chhetri with a blistering pass and the skipper tees up Yasir but the Hyderbad FC man sees his shot blocked by the resolute Bangladesh defense.

54' Tariq Kazi and Biplo Ahamed are flying in with challenges now and Igor Stimac is not happy with the referee's decision to hold back the cards in his pocket.

49' The Blue Tigers are trying more ambitious passes but have been unsuccessful in putting the final ball right so far! 

46' Mohammad Yasir and Ashique Kuruniyan come in to replace the ineffective duo of Udanta Singh and Bipin Singh. Stimac is looking for a goal here. The referee blows his whistle to kick off the second half!

Igor Stimac has a lot of ponder and think over for the next 15 minutes as we return with the action shortly!

The referee blows the whistle for half-time and India would be disappointed that they could not muster an opening despite having 70% of the ball in the first half. Chinglensana Singh came the closest to open the scoring on the night but the Hyderabad FC defender's header was blocked off the line.

45+1' A solitary minute has been added by the fourth referee as India wastes another chance in the attacking third.

40' A long-throw from Bangladesh troubles the Indian defense but Gurpreet Singh Sandhu rises tall and safely grasps the ball in his hands.

37' In all the drama, Bangladesh has made their first change of the day with Mohammad Ibrahim replacing Masuk Mia on the field.

36' A brilliant corner from Brandon Fernandes finds Chinglensana Singh but the defender's header is blocked well on the line and Bangladesh survives for now. Sunil Chhetri heads the resulting corner over the bar, disappointing from the Indian skipper.

34' A rapid counter-attack from India sees Glan Martins win the second ball and release Manvir Singh but the ATK Mohun Bagan forward was fouled and a yellow card is shown to Rahmat Mia.

32' More than half-hour has been played in this match and India has had 75% possession so far and the Blue Tigers are completely orchestrating the proceedings in Doha this far. 

29' Sunil Chhetri is brought down in the penalty area but the referee blows the whistle for a handball offense by the Indian skipper. The replays shows that the referee's decision will be criticized by the Indian fans in the aftermath of the match.

27' The contest is heating up as we have seen a fair few tackles flying in from both sides in the last couple of minutes.

25' The Indians are trying to get control of the match as they are keeping the possession, running the midfield, but the Blue Tigers have been unsuccessful in finding that final pass on many occasions thus far.

21' Bipin Singh is brought down by a player in the red jersey but the referee decides against blowing his whistle!

18' Chinglensana Singh ventures into the opposition half and finds Udanta Singh whose one-touch pass finds Suresh in a promising area but the Bengaluru FC midfielder's pass goes straight to Anisur Rahman in goal.

15' An excellent through pass from Brandon Fernandes finds Manvir Singh behind the Bangladesh defense but his first touch disappoints him as the ATK Mohun Bagan forward goes too wide and fails to get a shot away.

11' Subashish Bose goes in bravely and wins the ball, passes to Bipin Singh whose cross nearly finds an Indian shirt as both Manvir and Chhetri were in the box but the Bangladesh defense survives again!

8' Brandon's short corner sees Bipin Singh attempt a cross into the six-yard box but the ball is cleared away by the Bangladesh defense!

6' A few erroneous passes from the Blue Tigers midfielders see them defend under pressure but the Indians have been bailed out by Glan Martins.

2' Brandon Fernandes is at the end of a rash challenge from Rakib Hossain and the Bangladesh midfielder is shown a yellow card for the clumsy offense. The Goan No.10 is still down on the ground and Igor Stimac looks very tensed here! Back on his feet!

1' The referee blows his whistle and the match has kicked off. India is playing in their away kit whilst the Bangladesh players are donning their red home kits.

Iraqi referee Zaid Tomar Mohammad will be officiating tonight's fixture between the two neighboring sides.

Both the teams have walked out on the pitch and we are starting the proceedings with the Indian national anthem followed by the Bangladesh national anthem, both written by the great Rabindranath Tagore!

Head to Head
India and Bangladesh have played each other 29 times since their first meeting at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok. The Blue Tigers have been victorious on 15 occasions, 12 matches ended in a draw whilst the Bengal Tigers came out on top only on a couple of occasions.
In a total of three FIFA World Cup qualifiers, India has 2 wins against the 'Red and Green' while the previous match in October 2019 ended in a draw.

Form Guide
Bangladesh have won only one of their last five fixtures, drawing two, and losing the remaining two matches whilst India are on a winless run and haven't won any of their last six matches.

Sunil Chhetri hasn't scored a goal for India since the first match of the AFC joint qualifiers against Oman in September 2019. MISSING!

On the other hand, James Day has made just a single enforced change as Sohel Rana makes way for Manik Molla in defense.

Igor Stimac has made 3 changes from the Qatar fixture with Udanta Singh, Chinglensana Singh, and Brandon Fernandes replacing Pritam Kotal, the suspended Rahul Bheke, and Ashique Kuruniyan in the starting XI.

The line-ups are out
Bangladesh (4-1-4-1): Anisur Rahman, Rahmat Mia, Topu Barman, Jamal Bhuyan (C), Masuk Zoni, Biplo Ahamed, Matin Miah, Manik Molla, Tariq Kazi, Riyadul Hasan, Rakib Hossain
India (4-4-2): Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Udanta Singh, Chinglensana Singh, Sandesh Jhingan, Subhasish Bose, Bipin Singh, Suresh Singh, Glan Martins, Brandon Fernandes, Manvir Singh, Sunil Chhetri (C)

What happened in the return leg: Bangladesh took the lead at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata and the 184th ranked team looked set for a win against the Blue Tigers but Adil Khan rose the highest to head in a Brandon Fernandes corner to bag a solitary point from the match.

Team News: Sohel Rana is expected to miss the clash against India whilst Rahul Bheke and Rowlin Borges are unavailable for the Blue Tigers because of suspension and injury issues respectively.

What's at stake: A defeat for any of the two sides would spell the end of their hopes for direct qualification to the AFC Asian Cup 2023 whilst a win could propel either side up to the 3rd position currently occupied by Afghanistan with 5 points.

Hello and a big welcome to the live coverage of India vs Bangladesh, the seventh match for both teams in the Group E of AFC joint qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. I, Mohak Arora will take you through the preview, team news, and the minute-by-minute action as and when the match will start!