AFC Asian Cup 2019: India vs Bahrain - 5 things we learned 

#3 A long ball is not an option every time

India has struggled with long balls against Bahrain

An inspirational performance from India in the opening game and to some extent in the second tie also gave hopes to billion fans back in the nation, but the ‘Blue Tigers’ threw everything away in the blink of an eye on Monday night. After an average first half, India were caught on the back foot once again at the beginning of the second period.

India’s repeated attempts to penetrate through the defence with the help of long balls cost them dearly at the end. Udanta Singh, Ashique Kuruniyan and even Sunil Chhetri failed to keep their markers at bay who were superior to them in height.

To summarise the day, India failed to shoot a single ball on target while the fullbacks and the custodian were ‘busy as a bee’ throughout the entire span of the match. Even Sunil Chhetri was seen guarding the goal for the majority of the tie.