'Tired' India stumble on the cusp of Asian Cup history

India blew a golden opportunity to script history on Monday after suffering a painful defeat at the hands of Bahrain that knocked them out of the Asian Cup.

Going into one of their biggest matches in recent history, all India needed was a draw to reach the knockout stages of the Asian Cup for the first time ever. But it was not to be on the night as Bahrain snatched away the chalice right from India's lips with a late Jamal Rashed penalty, courtesy a rash tackle from Pronay Halder.

The Blue Tigers were heavy favourites to get the result, given the encouraging nature of their performances in the earlier group games.

They had outplayed Thailand and went toe-to-toe with UAE, displaying high-intensity pressing and remarkable energy levels.

But none of those refreshing characteristics were on show against Bahrain. India started slowly and were flat for most periods and started to retreat and sit deep as the second half wore on.

Understandably, Bahrain went all out in attack in search for a win, given that they had very little to think in terms of the threat that India carried. India could not hold on to the ball for much and relinquished possession a bit too easily. Rowllin Borges, who came in for Anirudh Thapa, was almost anonymous for the entirety of the match.

There were no runs in behind the defence from the forwards as well, with very few options to pass the ball around on the rare occasions that India ventured forward. Ashique Kuruniyan, who was extremely energetic in the first two games, looked off-colour.

He was rightly taken off at half-time and Jeje Lalpekhlua was sent on. However, the Mizoram-born forward was also ineffective, failing to hold on to the ball or inject pace into the attack.

In fact, apart from Sandesh Jhingan and Pronay Halder to an extent, most of the other outfield players struggled to maintain their intensity and levels from the previous matches.

India were visibly ‘tired’ after playing two high-intensity matches in a short span of time. The Bahrain game was their third such game in nine days and Stephen Constantine’s men could not cope and were left hanging on at times.

Even then, the team almost pulled off a result but for the late heart-break.

Anas Edathodika’s early injury was also a setback for Constantine. Salam Ranjan Singh, who came on in place of Anas, looked out of sync and had several moments of indecision that almost cost the team.

Even Bahrain’s penalty stemmed from a poor clearance by the East Bengal defender.

The Blue Tigers had run out of legs to press the issue against Bahrain and were looking to play for a draw as the game wore by and ultimately paid the price.

Despite the harrowing way in which the team went out of the Asian Cup, this campaign has thrown up more positives than negatives. India have shown they are a competitive outfit and fully deserve their current standing in world football (ranked 97th by FIFA).

The coach might have decided to call it quits but he has left a young and vibrant team who are not afraid to take on any opposition.

The defeat should serve as a lesson in improving the fitness levels and managing high-pressure situations that football at the highest level calls for.