Bhutia’s second brace in two games

Striker Vladimir Bariamov scored the lone goal for Turkmenistan who are out of reckoning now having lost both their league matches so far. In their first match they had lost to favourites China.

Desperate to win the match to stay in contention for a berth in the quarters, the Indians only had themselves to blame for conceding the first goal as they appeared a little tentative in the early stages of the match allowing their rivals too much room in the striking zone.

Taking the field with the tag of underdogs, Turkmenistan left the Indians stunned when the hard-working Bariamov brilliantly headed home a corner kick in the 22nd minute giving no chance at all to Indian custodian Rajat Ghosh Dastidar who otherwise had a good day under the bar. But the complexion of the game changed in a span of just two minutes in the second half which saw the Indians not only fetching the equaliser through star striker Bhutia but also taking the lead with Abhishek Yadav finding the target.

Even before the celebrations had died down, the talented Abhishek, who excelled in the recent LG Cup, put India in the lead just two minutes later as he placed the ball into the goal from close range. The rival custodian charged out to foil the move but a cool Abhishek made no mistake with his placement. Bhutia then clinched the issue by scoring the third goal 11 minutes before the long whistle displaying his dribbling skill to good effect. (PTI)