Khalid Jamil gets India back to winning ways, Kerala’s Uvais makes memorable debut

Kerala had a fresh face in India colours as Nilambur native Muhammed Uvais started and impressed in a 2-1 victory over co-hosts Tajikistan in the CAFA Nations Cup on Friday.

Uvais made his India debut at left-back in Khalid Jamil's first match as the national team head coach since replacing Manolo Marquez. There were two Malayalis in action from the start as Ashique Kuruniyan was placed on the left wing in a 4-4-2 set-up.

Goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, back in the reckoning and made the captain for the evening, saved a penalty in the 73rd minute as India held on to the narrow lead. Rustam Soirov struck his penalty down the middle, but Sandhu's long legs cleared the ball.

India had taken a 2-0 early lead with Anwar Ali (5') and Sandesh Jhingan (13) scoring. Uvais had a part to play in the opener as it was his long throw that caused panic in the Tajikistan box. The goalkeeper, Muhriddin Hasanov, failed to punch the ball clear, and Ali turned it in off the back of a Tajikistan defender.

A ricochet from a failed clearance gifted Jhingan a free shot on target to put India in a solid position quite early. However, Sahrom Samiev's 23rd-minute strike put the hosts back in the game.

India defended well, often with everyone back in their own half, to preserve the lead. The visitors relied on counters but were unable to cause any significant damage during the transition.

India had last won a match in March (3-0) against the Maldives in a friendly. India are ranked 133rd in the world, while Tajikistan is ranked 106th. India next play the mighty Iran in their second match of the event on September 1.