NEW DELHI: India produced a champagne performance, hammering Kyrgyzstan 3-0 to set up a final date with favorites Syria in the ONGC Nehru Cup football tournament here.
The strike trio of skipper Bhaichung Bhutia (38th minute), local favourite Sunil Chetri (60th) and substitute Abhishek Yadav (93rd) got a goal each to send the hosts into the final of the tournament for the first time.
India's previous best performance at the Nehru Cup was a semi-final appearance in 1997 at Kochi with Syed Nayeemuddin as coach but Bob Houghton's boys have gone at least one up so far.
There was electricity in the air at the Ambedkar Stadium which was almost packed to capacity with nearly 15,000 fans creating a frenzied atmosphere in the stands.
The flag, placards and bugles along with the roar from the crowd gave a reception usually reserved for India's cricketing heroes. Even the most optimistic of Indian supporters would not have envisaged the quality and flair on show from the home team.
The challenge in front of them will be to replicate it on against Syria. Man of the match Steven Dias was majestic in the midfield and, along with N P Pradeep, pulled the strings keeping the Central Asians off balance.
The frail-looking player got the better of rivals who were much bigger in size. It resulted in them indulging in silly fouls and frayed tempers.
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