India were held to a goalless draw by 205th ranked Sri Lanka despite a dominant display in their second SAFF Championships match, in Male, on Thursday.
The seven-time champions paid the price for not creating enough chances and wasting those they got against a Sri Lankan side ranked 98 places below them.
Though they had a lion's share of ball possession, the 107th-ranked Indians were ineffective from set-pieces and neither did much from open play against the island nation, which has only five countries below them in the FIFA rankings.
Igor Stimac's full-strength team is still searching for victory after two matches in the tournament.
India had drawn against a 10-man Bangladesh 1-1 in their opening match on Monday.
A defeat or draw against current table toppers Nepal (6 points) on Sunday will make it difficult for India to qualify for the final. The top two teams from the round-robin league qualify for the final on October 16.
India made three changes from the previous match’s starting eleven, with Seriton Fernandes and Mandar Rao Dessai replacing Chinglensana Singh and Pritam Kotal in defence and Suresh Singh coming in for Manvir Singh upfront.
Stimac's side controlled the match from the start, the Sri Lankans barely having a chance at the Indian goal. However, the forwards, led by captain Sunil Chhetri, were unable to bulge the opposition’s net.
Chhetri himself could not do much on the day. The best chance of the first half came in the 22nd minute, but Liston Colaco's free header from a nice cross from the right flank by Udanta Singh sailed over the bar.
India kept pressing for a goal but failed to put real pressure on the Lankan defence for the rest of the first half.
The second half saw Stimac taking off Suresh and bringing in Mohd. Yasir.
In the 60th minute, Dessai flashed a low cross across the face of the Sri Lankan goal and Anirudh Thapa, who had only to connect to score, could not meet the ball.
With Sri Lanka defending in their own half, the Indians pressed more men upfront for the elusive goal but at the same time their frustration also increased with each passing minute.
Stimac was booked for arguing with the referee as frustration was clearly writ large on the face of the Croatian coach.
India missed a golden opportunity to steal a winner two minutes before regulation time. An in-swinging Yasir corner was flicked on at the near post by Chhetri and the ball found its way to Subhasish Bose at the far post.
It needed a simple tap-in from Bose, but he blazed it over the bar and Sri Lanka escaped with a draw.
