The Goan Network
MARGAO
The Indian U-17 World Cup Squad currently on an exposure trip to South Africa were held to a 3-3 draw by Wits U-17 on Tuesday.
Coming on the back of a stellar 10-1 win over Botswana U-17, the Indian Colts wasted little time and adopted an attacking stance to the game from the opening minutes.
In the 11th minute, Abhijit Sarkar, who scored six goals against Botswana U-17 was released onto goal following a tacky one touch play.
Sarkar, however, failed to find the target as the opportunity went abegging. In the 23rd minute, the Indian Colts took the lead when Abhijit headed home Gaston’s long throw to make the scoreline read 1-0.
With both teams jostling for possession, the match became a cagey affair and in the 43rd minute, Wits U-17 equalised their deficit against the run of play as the teams went into the tunnel at half-time on level pegging with the scoreline reading 1-1.
Shortly after the second half kicked-off, Abhijit blazed past the Wits defence line and played in back to an onrushing Reamsochung, who could only manage to place it over the goal.
In the 60th minute, the Indian Colts doubled their lead as Reamsochung unleashed a powerful shot which ended into the back of the opposition net after Wits failed to clear their lines. However, Wits equalised their deficit in the 61st minute to make it 2-2.
Shortly after, a moment of brilliance by Komal made it 3-2 for India as the lanky forward dibbled past two defenders and released a rocket-of-a-shot from outside the box, which curled into the top corner. In the dying embers of the match Wits scored again to make it 3-3 and the full-time scoreline read the same.
