India beat Kuwait in tiebreakers to clinch SAFF title

India beat Kuwait 5-4 on penalties in the final to clinch their ninth SAFF Championship title at the Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium on Tuesday.

Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu was once again India's hero in the final as he stood tall by saving two penalty shoots to win it for India in the sudden deaths. It is India's second trophy in the last few weeks after winning the Intercontinental Cup last month.

He was equally good in the semi-finals against Lebanon, saving a penalty shootout. The lanky goalkeeper backed it up with another stellar performance, making two saves in the shootouts.

Kuwait striker Shabib Al Khaldi opened the scoring after he found the net in the 14th minute but India scored the equaliser in the 38th minute when Lallianzuala Chhangte completed a silky move to make it 1-1. 

In the penalty shootout, Udanta Singh missed one penalty for India while Abdullah hit the post for Kuwait. The match went into sudden death and it was Gurpreet Singh Sandhu who saved the penalty from Hajiah to clinch the win.

While Sandhu's heroics in the semifinal and the final played a big part in India's triumph, Bangladesh's Anisur Rahman Zico's consistency in goal stood out as was deemed goalkeeper of the tournament.