India 0-0 Qatar: Resolute India survive Qatar test in their own den

Igor Stimac comes out on the ground and the Indian players celebrate like it was a win. Hats-off to Gurpreet Singh Sandhu for leading the team from the back. Hats off to India's resolute defense who gave no room to Qatari players. Almoez Ali, the MVP of AFC Asian Cup, couldn't prove his worth because he was cut out as an isolated figure. Here is your host Abhishek Kundu saying good night. Do follow Sportskeeda for the latest Indian football updates.

Fulltime: It has finished 0-0 here in Doha. Qatar are distraught here. Many would wonder whether they have lost the game. But no, India have drawn against the mighty Qatar and it is as good as a win.

90+4' Udanta Singh is on the other end but he looses the ball. But, it doesn't matter because...

90+3' SHOT! Tarek Salman frustrated takes a shot from distance but it is miles wide. Gurpreet should take his own sweet time with his goal kick.

90+2' Qatar's captain Al Haydos swings in another cross from the left wing. But, no one challenges it and Gurpreet collects it comfortably.

90+2' And, India makes their final change.

OFF- Anirudh Thapa
ON- Narender Gehlot

90+1' Udanta breaks on the counter. But, he is cleaned away by a Qatari defender inside the box. A brilliant challenge.

90' Four minutes added on.

90' India commits plenty of shirts upfront and Abdelkarim Hassan has acres of space in front of him. He drives a cross but Gurpreet read it and collects it by coming out of his line.

89' Xavi is on the ground today. He has spent four years in Qatar and must be distraught with Qatar's performance. Chants of India-India reverberating on the ground, nonetheless.

88' OFFSIDE! Almoez Ali tries to wriggle his way through two Indian defenders but his eventual pass is given offside.

87' And, Qatar coach Felix Sanchez Bas has hands on his head. He cannot figure out how can Qatar break this resolute Indian defense. Jhingan heads a cross from the right wing this time.

85' CHANCE! How did Qatar miss this? Hatem takes a shot from distance. Gurpreet palms it but straight into the path of a Qatari player. He, however, whacks the ball straight on the underside of the bar. But, the flag is raised anyway.

83' Udanta wins the battle with Abdulkarem Hassan and India have a beautiful chance to break on the counter. But, he fails to find Brandon and gives the ball straight to a Qatari defender.

81' CHANCE! Boy, how did India miss out on taking the lead here? Manvir Singh wriggles away his marker. He gives it to Udanta Singh, who muscles with Abdulkarim Hassan to win the duel. He passes it to Anirudh Thapa, who lays it off for him again. Seeing space, Udanta takes a shot from outside the box but the shot dips a little late and India miss the lead by a whisker.

80' It is captain vs captain. But, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu collects Al Haydos' tame shot. It is still 0-0 here in Doha. Ten minutes left here.

79' MISS! Tarek Salman drives a cross from the byline. But, the substitute Alaeedin fails to time his jump. And, the ball scoops above the bar.

78' India try to break on the counter. But, Rowllin fails to find Udanta and now, India are again on the backfoot.

77' Qatar win another corner. The 13th of the night, I think for the Gulf nation. But, the looping header by Bassam Al Rawi is mistimed and India wins another goal kick.

76' SAVE! Qatar finally get a low long ranger on target in between a host of defenders. But, Gurpreet saves the day for India again. The scoreline is still 0-0 here in Doha.

75' India makes their second substitution.

OFF- Sahal Abdul Samad
ON- Vinit Rai

74' OFFSIDE! A brilliant one-two by Udanta and Sahal, who chips in the ball for Rahul Bheke. But, the assistant raises his flag.

73' Qatar are getting frustrated here. The substitute Alaeedin ballons his shot. India are showing no signs of fatigue. Good indication for India.

72' Nothing. India give them absolutely nothing.

72' Qatar wins their 12th corner of the game. What can they bring up here?

71' Qatar make their second change.

ON-Ahmed Alaeedin
OFF- Abdulazez Hatem

68' India makes their first change.

ON- Brandon Fernandes
OFF- Nikhil Poojary

67' And, India are seeing more of the ball in the attack now. But, they are mixing their front passes with back ones and Sandesh Jhingan wins a foul in his own half. He even gets stamped. Let's hope that is not something serious.

66' SHOT! Anirudh Thapa whips in a corner and everyone misses it. Sahal is alone with acres of space outside the box but couldn't direct his shot on target.

66' Headed away by Qatar's #15 Al Rawi. Mandar crosses in with his left foot but India gets their first corner.

65' FOUL! Abdulkarem Hassan pulls down Udanta and India have a free-kick in a dangerous position. A golden opportunity for the Blue Tigers.

64' Udanta Singh wriggles past two defenders in the right wing and crosses in. But, no Indian player is out there.

63' And, Abdulkarim Hassan hits straight in the wall. They did not jump and clear it straight away.

62' And now, Almoez Ali draws a foul from Mandar Rao Desai just outside the box. Good distance from the goal. What can Qatar bring up here?

61' Qatar make their first change.

ON-Ismail Mohammed (17)
OFF- Yusuf Abdurisag (12)

60' And now, Ro-Ro fouls Nikhil Poojary. Valuable time wasted by India as the game nears the hourmark.

59' India are getting a string of passes in the opposite half. But, they need to do the same in the final third. They are developing with the attack as time progresses

56' And, India break on the counter but Sahal gets tackled from behind by Assim Madibo. He was the last man and only sees a yellow. The Indians are protesting for a red card and well, he is lucky to get away with it.

55' And, India's Rowllin Borges goes to the book. Lucky, he didn't commit the foul inside the penalty box.

54' SHOT! Qatar's #15 Basam Al Rawi gets a free-header but he couldn't get the ball under the head and the ball trickles away for a goal kick.

53' Great defending! India lose the ball in their own final third. Almoez Ali tries to find his teammate and he even takes a shot. But, Rahul Bheke lunges a sliding tackle to perfection to clear the ball.

52' Sahal squeezes the ball behind the defenders and finds Udanta. The Bengaluru FC winger runs at his full pace to drive a low cross but isn't angled properly for Manvir to poke it home. First meaningful chance for India.

51' Sahal tries to find a peach of a pass to Udanta. But, Udanta is inches ahead offside and he doesn't attempt to run for the ball.

49' OFFSIDE! #12 Abdurisag latches on to a wide ball but the flag goes up. Gurpreet would have saved the shot from point blank range nonetheless.

48' Qatar try to do a variation but Boualem Khoukhi spoils the plans.

47' Qatar has a free-kick in a dangerous area. Anirudh Thapa with a high boot gives away a clumsy free-kick. He has also hurt himself and is receiving treatment.

46' PEEP! And, we are underway here for the second half.

India has let their guard down in the second half. We saw that against Tajikistan in the Intercontinental Cup and against Oman in their home fixture of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. A crucial second half comes up in the other half of the break.

Teams to have prevented Qatar from scoring in the first half in 2019: Lebanon, South Korea, Iraq, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Paraguay. Add India to that list, boy.

Al Haydos has been a livewire in the left wing, troubling India's Rahul Bheke. Almoez Ali has a rare off day by his standards.