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India's Sunil Chhetri has registered his name in record books after scoring a brace in India's 2019 AFC Asia Cup opener against Thailand. The legendary forward has overtaken Lionel Messi to become the second highest goalscorer among the active players with 67 goals.
Portugal and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo is only ahead of the Indian forward who has scored for staggering 85 times for his nation. It is a matter of pride for football fans in India who have been supporting the forward in every moment. Sunil Chhetri was leveled with Lionel Messi at 65 goals before the encounter against Thailand.
Ashique Kuruniyan angled his shot from a tight spot to be saved by Thailand goalkeeper Chatchai Budprom. The rebound from the keeper hit the hands of Thai defender Theerathon Bunmathon. The referee was in a good position and didn't take any time to point at the 12-yard spot. The 34-year-old forward didn't make any mistake and hit a powerful ground shot at the left corner and made the keeper dive in the opposite direction. Thailand scored the equaliser through Teerasil Dangda just five minutes after Sunil Chhetri's goal.
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India took the lead for the second time in the game with just one minute after the start of the second half through India's very own Sunil Chhetri. Udanta Singh soared down the right flank and crossed the ball towards Ashique Kuruniyan who left it for Sunil Chhetri. The forward hit accurate shot in the top-left corner of the net to give India the much-needed lead.
India won the match comfortably after the third and fourth goal scored by Anirudh Thapa and Jeje Lalpekhlua. It was a deserved win after an impressive second-half performance by the Blue Tigers. With this win, India are at the pinnacle of Group A in Asia's elite tournament.
"Records don't matter, it doesn't matter who scores the goals. Whoever scores, the jubilation was same. I'm glad we got all three points", said Chhetri after the historic win.
India will face UAE in their second game of the tournament. Football fans in India will hope that BlueTigers win their next match and India's talisman scores more goals in the future.
Twitter was delighted with Sunil Chhetri becoming the second highest goal scorer and here are some of the tweets:
