Overview

• Defenders Anwar Ali in the 5th minute and Sandesh Jhingan in the 13th minute put India two up before the hosts pulled one back.
• Captain Gurpreet Singh Sandhu returned to the lineup and protected the lead with multiple saves, including a second-half penalty stop.
• The result came away to higher-ranked Tajikistan in Hisor and ended India’s long winless run in the first match under the new coach.
• India leaned on compact defending and set pieces as midfield creativity lagged and the forwards saw limited service.
• Sunil Chhetri was not selected and Mohun Bagan players were unavailable, with CAFA being used to assess options ahead of October qualifiers against Singapore.