India U-17 women's team plays out 3-3 draw with Romania in friendly

Mariyammal Balamurugan scored a brace, while Sumati Kumari added the other as India drew 3-3 with Romania in a friendly match in Turkey on Sunday.

The exposure tour to Turkey is part of India's preparation for the upcoming FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup, which will be held in India between November 2-21 this year.

The India U-17 women's national team played out a 3-3 draw against Romania on Sunday in a friendly match in Turkey. Mariyammal Balamurugan scored a brace for India, with Sumati Kumari scoring the third goal for head coach Thomas Dennerby's team.

The opening goal for India came in the 40th minute, with Mariyammal breaking the deadlock. Anju found Sumati in the penalty area, who flicked it to Mariyammal, who made no mistake with the finish.

However, at the stroke of half-time, Borodi Adina equalised for Romania by converting a cross from the wings.

READ | Praful Patel: Women’s U-17 World Cup will provide India global recognition

The second half saw India push for the go-ahead goal and in the 57th minute, Mariyammal added another to her tally. Sunita Munda put in a grounded cross from the right flank and Mariyammal was on hand to slot the ball into the bottom-right corner of the net.

Just six minutes later, Sunita turned provider yet again -- this time for Sumati -- putting in another center from the right, which was tapped home.

India continued to move the ball in the Romanian final third but in the 78th minute, Romania pulled one goal back through a direct free-kick taken by Mirea Roxana.

With seven minutes to go, Romania scored through Borodi Adina, who headed in the equaliser as the match ended 3-3.

The two teams will face off for the second friendly match on Wednesday with kick-off scheduled for 3 PM IST.

The exposure tour to Turkey is part of India's preparation for the upcoming FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup, which will be held in India between November 2-21 this year.