SL hold mighty India to scoreless draw

It was so near and yet so far as the Indians were kept at bay by the underrated Lankan outfit to shatter a 18-year record established way back in 2003, which resulted in a similar scoreline, but the last three outings between the two teams were won by India.

Full credit should go to the Lankan lads who as a team played wholeheartedly to defy the tournament favourites with a commendable performance throughout and depriving them of the game. Even though India dominated territory mostly in the first passage of the game, the underrated Lankan lads displayed some exceptional skills to prevent them from scoring, however much their rivals sneaked through the defense. Skipper Sujan led from the front and was a tower of strength in the goal area, while player of the match Duckson Puslas Yogendran foiled the majority of the moves initiated by the rivals. Due to the intensity, both sides were shown few yellow cards for rough play. The scoreline remained the same at the breather with an additional five minutes play due to stoppages. After the turn around the game took a different complexion as both sides were determined and tried hard to break the shackles and score the vital goal. After some intense moments, the game was fought to the wire and ended up with a nerve tingling finish.

The performance of the Lankan team so far has shown tremendous improvement and sent a message in the region that they are no more an underrated team but a major force to be reckoned with.