Football friendly, China vs India as it happened: Blue Tigers hold hosts to a goal-less first half
Pritam Kotal had India’s best chance of the first half.
India 0-0 China
7.25 pm: That will be all from us for the night, stay tuned for match report and more.
7.13 pm: Gurpreet Singh is the obvious choice for India’s best player on the night. Agree?
More reaction on Twitter, including KBFC Manjapada fans’ reaction — the group that travelled to China.
7.08 pm: Some post-match reaction on Twitter.
7.04 pm: A night to remember for the India fans who made it to Suzhou, eh?
Full-time and it finishes 0-0. It’s a draw for the Blue Tigers in China.
Back to the walls performance by Stephen Constantine’s team. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu stood tall amidst the chaos to keep a clean sheet. India will take this result with both hands.
90+3’: 0-0
Farukh Choudhary breaks but can’t get a clean touch on it. Corner for team India but they can’t make it count.
90’: 0-0
Five minutes of added time. India are close to earning a hard-fought draw as Rowllin Borges replaces Anirudh Thapa.
84’: 0-0
Vinit Rai replaces Pronay Halder. Nikhil Poojary is booked for not maintaining enough distance during an opposition free-kick.
79’: 0-0
Jhingan with a header from Thapa’s corner but he can’t keep it down. Jeje Lalpekhlua is replaced by Farukh Choudhary.
76’: 0-0
Goalmouth scramble and Gurpreet just about keeps it out. India are a lucky, lucky team.
69’: 0-0
China hit the bar once again! Wu Lei takes a fierce volley but Gurpreet and India manage to wriggle out of it. How long can they hold on for?
63’: 0-0
Double substitution for India as Udanta and Narayan Das come off for Nikhil Poojary and Anas Edathodika. A defensive shuffle from Constantine.
56’: 0-0
Narzary with a good tackle in midfield, passes it to Udanta but his finish is terrible. The shot is way over the bar.
55’: 0-0
Wave after wave of attacks. Jhingan and co are under bombardment but need to hold strong. China with real intent in this half.
50’: 0-0
POST! Gao Lin has a lot of time but he hits the post as Gurpreet can only watch. Massive scare there for the Indians.
46’: 0-0
We have kick-off in the second half. China are on the attack straight away!
China’s finishing has been poor. They have struggled without a proper striker up front. India haven’t kept the ball, but they have created a couple of chances. Jeje Lalpekhlua is struggling.
Half-time and it’s a story of missed chances by the Chinese team! Marcelo Lippi will be unhappy but Constantine will take that half. 0-0.
43’: 0-0
Free-kick whipped in by the Chinese. The header goes just over Gurpreet’s goal-frame.
37’: 0-0
Thapa looks to break but he is unable to progress, having been tackled in midfield.
33’: 0-0
India will be happy with the first half hour. China have attacked and Gurpreet has been forced into a couple of saves. Lippi will bring on his big-hitters later.
27’: 0-0.
China currently dominating possession with 60%. The important stat for India is that the scores are still level.
23’: 0-0.
SAVE! China almost score but Gurpreet gets low and keeps it out. Once again, the chance comes down India’s right.
17’: 0-0.
India have a free-kick which Thapa takes. Chhetri gets on the end of it and it’s a great chance, but the Bengaluru striker slips and it goes over the bar.
13’: 0-0.
CHANCE for India! Kotal on the overlap takes a low fizzing shot, which is saved. Thapa’s corner is a poor one.
11’: 0-0.
Jhingan to the rescue just in time. India can’t get out of their own half. It’s one-way traffic. A Chinese Twitter user confirms that China have fielded a second string team.
6’: 0-0
Jhingan clears the ball but he’s unhappy with Kotal for being out of position. China have another corner. India under early pressure.
3’: 0-0
China have the first corner. It is cleared by Gurpreet and India survive China’s first attack.
1’: 0-0
We have kick-off in Suzhou!
5.00 pm: The teams are out there. China are in red against India in blue.
4.55 pm: Will Lippi go with his trademark 4-3-3 to counter 4-2-3-1? Lots of pressure on Thapa and Pronay tonight. Sunil Chhetri predicted that India would have to defend a lot.
4.50 pm: Marcello Lippi’s China are under a bit of pressure here. They have won two out of the last 11 games and have to come up with a big result in Suzhou. Lippi hailed the Indian team’s performance in recent years.
4.45 pm: Tim Cahill says that India can get a result in China if they have to be disciplined to get a result. Remember, India have never beaten China in 17 meetings. The hosts have won 12 and drawn five.
4.30 pm: Welcome to the live blog of India versus China due to take place in an hour’s time at the Suzhou Stadium in China. My name is Arka Bhattacharya and I will be taking you through to the end of the match this evening.
First up, the line-ups. The inclusion of Narayan Das is a major surprise, as Subashish Bose was expected to take up the left-back slot. Sandesh Jhingan will partner Bose at the heart of defence with Pritam Kotal on the right.
Jeje Lalpekhlua will lead the line with Sunil Chhetri playing just off him. Halicharan Narzary and Udanta Singh will flank the two forwards.