Vijayan, Baichung brace too much for Zimbabwe

HYDERABAD: India showed rare character by fighting back after conceding an early goal to trounce a highly-rated Zimbabwe 5-3 in a thrilling semifinal at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium on Wednesday. Uzbekistan who edged past Rwanda 2-1 by way of a golden goal by Boyev Konstantin will meet the hosts in Friday’s final.
The L B Stadium was not ideal for free-flowing football.The overnight rains had left some parts of the field slushy, tilting the balance in favour of the home team.
However, the Zimbabweans wrested the initiative from the Indians early in the first session. In the 4th minute Ronald Badza’s cross from the right flank saw Albert Mbano sneak in the ball from within the penalty box to beat the Indian goal keeper, Sangram Mukerjee.
Expectations of the home fans following their undefeated run in the group matches and the early Zimbabwean strike seemed to have got to the Indians when it mattered most. An injury picked up on the field by defender Muttath Suresh during one of the frequent Zimbabwean forrays that saw him being replaced by Selwyn Fernandes added to worries of the Indians.
However, former Indian captain I M Vijayan showed why he is still considered one of Asia’s top strikers as he led an inspired and rare Indian counter attack to score twice in a span of 13 minutes to put the Indians back in the hunt.
In the 20th minute Vijayan showed his uncanny ability to loose his markers, perfectly judged a cross from Jatin Singh Bisht from close to the right flag and fired India’s equaliser.
A few minutes later Vijayan nodded India’s second of the match, following a free-kick for a tackle on Climax Lawrence.
Zimbabwean coach Nelson Matogorere who had earlier singled out Vijayan as India’s most dangerous player seemed to have over-looked one — Baichung Bhutia.