WATCH: Sunil Chhetri's extraordinary goal against Kuwait | SAFF Championship 2023

India settled for a draw in their SAFF Championship 2023 Group A game against Kuwait - courtesy of an extraordinary goal from Sunil Chhetri during the opening half. The skipper met Anirudh Thapa's corner on the half-volley to drive the Blue Tigers to a lead in style following an even opening half at the Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

The visitors nearly opened the scoring in the opening half when Abdullah's shot was brilliantly kept out by Amrinder Singh.The Kuwaiti forward's accurate shot, which looked like a definite goal, was kept out by the Blue Tigers shot-stopper in an extraordinary fashion.

Igor Stimac's side, on the other hand, nearly caught the Arab side by surprise when Anwar Ali's header from a quick corner from Mahesh caught the opponent's off guard.

However, the hosts got a much-deserved goal following an extraordinary half-volley from Sunil Chhetri. Anirudh Thapa's corner dipped in the right time for the 38-year-old to produce a piece of magic during the stoppage time of the first half.

The Men in Blue's defensive resilience made life tougher for Kuwait forwards, Fawaz Al Otaibi and Shabib Al Khaldi. Amrinder Singh also forced into a save by a powerful Al Dhaferi's free-kick an hour into the clock.

While the clock ticked down, the Indians found it hard to defend against a livewire Kuwait attack, which kept on troubling the goalkeeper until the end of the game. Shabib Al Khaldi's shot after drifting off wide was parried away to safety by Amrinder Singh in the 86th minute. However, they were unable to hold on to their slender advantage as Anwar Ali's miscued clearance found his own net.

With that first-half strike, Sunil Chhetri found the back of the net for the 92nd time for the nation. Indian football lovers took to twitter to salute India's saviour once again.