Chettri hat-trick gives India flying start

Sunil Chhetri scored a hat-trick as India thrashed Pakistan 4-0 in the second match on the opening day of the SAFF Championship in Bengaluru after Kuwait handed Nepal a 3-1 defeat yesterday.

India captain Chhetri opened the scoring in the 10th minute, profiting from a howler from the Pakistan goalkeeper before adding two more goals from the spot. Substitute forward Udanta Singh added a fourth to complete the rout in the heated affair at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium.

The hat-trick took Chhetri's international tally to 90 goals from 138 matches as he moved to fourth position in goalscorers' chart in men's international football, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo (123), Ali Daei (109) and Lionel Messi (103).

Earlier, Kuwait, one of the two invited teams in this competition, got off to a flying start with a 3-1 win over Nepal. The Kuwaitis cruised to a 3-0 lead, with Khaled Haijah opening the scoring before Shabaib Al Khaldi and Mohammad Abdullah adding to the tally. Nepal's Anjan Bista pulled one back late in the game but there was no coming back for the Himalayan nation.