10-men Bangladesh hold India

Defender Yeasin Arafat helped a 10-men Bangladesh earn a thrilling 1-1 draw against India with the men red and green coming back from behind in the second half to earn a crucial point in the Maldives Monday.

With the draw in the day's match of the five-nation SAFF Championship 2021 at the National Stadium in Male, Bangladesh are now leading the points table with four points from two matches after beating Sri Lanka 1-0 in the tournament opener.

Both the Bangladesh goals were scored by two defenders Topu Barman against Sri Lanka and Yeasin Arafat against India.

A lot of Bangladeshi fans gathered at the stadium to cheer their national team.

In the remaining matches of the regional soccer meet, Bangladesh will face hosts Maldives on October 7 at 10pm and Nepal on October 13 at 5pm, both at the National Stadium.

Captain Sunil Chhetri put India ahead in the 26th minute, using a right-wing cross from Udoy Singh (1-0). It was his 76th international goal and the 6th against Bangladesh. But Bangladesh defender Yeasin's 74th-minute equaliser ensured the teams shared the points.

Before that, things turned worse for interim head coach Oscar Bruzon's men as defender Bishwanath Ghosh got received a red card in the 54th minute.

But defender Yeasin relieved pulled one back in the 74th minute by a brilliant header, off a left-wing corner of captain Jamal Bhuiyan (1-1). He was named the man of the match.

Earlier, Bangladesh played out to a 1-1 draw against India in their away match of the World Cup qualifiers in Kolkata in 2019.

Although India dominated the match for most of the proceedings, Bangladesh also managed some chances, spoiled by Yeasir, Biplo, and Saaduddin.

With the day's feat, the newly appointed Spanish interim head coach of Bangladesh national football team Oscar proved his worth in two consecutive matches.

Earlier this month, the Bangladesh football team toured Kyrgyzstan for the preparation of the SAFF Championship and lost all three matches under English head coach Jamie Day.

Visiting Bangladesh conceded 0-2 defeat against Palestine in their first match of the Three Nations Cup.

Hosts Kyrgyzstan clinched three nations cup title with an all-win record outplaying Bangladesh by 4-1 goals in their second and match after beating Palestine by 1-0 goal in the tournament opener.

Jamie Day's Bangladesh completed their Kyrgyzstan tour on a frustrating note, losing all three matches, after conceding a 2-3 defeat against the Kyrgyzstan U-23 team, all at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek.