A brace from Mosammat Sirat Jahan Shopna and another from Srimoti Sarkar saw India suffer its first loss in the Women’s SAFF Championship at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
India’s hopes of qualification, however, remained unchanged after comfortable wins over Pakistan (3-0) and Maldives (9-0).
The Blue Tigresses sit second on the table with six points and will take on Nepal in the semifinal on September 16, 2022, at the same venue.
Bangladesh had the early impetus, and took the lead in the 12th minute, when Sarkar threaded a ball through to Shopna, who slotted in between two defenders, and sent it past the keeper, to put her side in the lead.
India had its first chance of the game in the 19th minute when Anju Tamang earned a free-kick 22 yards from goal. Naorem Priyangka Devi stepped up for the kick but curled it just wide of the woodwork.
Minutes later, Sarkar doubled Bangladesh’s lead, as she darted into the Indian box from the left flank and finished past the keeper.
Despite India trying to exploit its opponent’s high line, the score remained 0-2 at the end of the first half.
Bangladesh piled on more misery in the second half, when captain Sabina Khatun led a counter-attack, feeding through a pass to Shopna, who duly rounded the keeper and slotted it into the net, making it 3-0 for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh tops Group A with 9 points, having won its three games, and will face Bhutan in the semifinal on September 16.
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