India shares honors with Oman in first international friendly after COVID-19 lockdown.

Manvir Singh scored the equalizer in the 55th minute which helped India to a 1-1 draw against Oman in the first international match after the COVID-19 lockdown.
The Indian football team is back in the second half to hold Oman in a 1-1 draw in its first international match in more than a year despite the Gulf side dominating a friendly here on Thursday.
India conceded a goal in the 42nd minute with Chinglensana Singh’s permission crossing the goal line after hitting goalkeeper Amrinder Singh who started the game in place of Gurpreet Singh Sandhu.
Manvir Singh scored the equalizer in the 55th minute to help India unleash an extraordinary draw against Oman in the first international exit after the COVID-19 lockdown.
India head coach Igor Stimac has given ten players more debuts. He had said before the game that he would give the players a high number to get the experience to play in big games.
The first episode was about Oman’s wave of attacks with India not finding a single target.
Oman, who has won both 2022 World Cup qualifiers against India, has played a major defensive line with many potential attackers. India are content to defend their fort with more players on their side and one man ahead of the front for most of the time.
The Indians have lost their legacy in many instances as Oman has not allowed them to hold on to football for long.
Oman squandered a penalty in the 27th minute after Rowlin Borges fouled Abdul Aziz Al Gheilani in the middle of the box. Aziz himself took a kick but fired straight at Amarinder Singh.
But Oman should not have been denied a goal in the first half. Al Aghbari found the ball on his left wing and sent a cross across the face of the post. Amrinder could not collect the ball clean and hit Cinglensana Singh past the goal line.
Stimac made two changes at the start of the second session with Llengmawia and Raynier Fernandes including Jeekson Singh and Rowllin Borges.
The Indians pulled out the most advanced game in the second half, holding the ball more than the first 45 minutes and playing the most attacking game.
India averaged five minutes before the hour. Bipin Singh posted a beautiful cross from the right side headed home by Manvir.
Oman, ranked 81st compared to 104 in India on the FIFA charts, then pressed hard to find the winning goal but Amrinder impressed behind the bar as he made two fine saves in the 63rd and 65th minutes.
India play their second international friendly against the UAE here on Monday. The friendlies are a part of preparations for the joint qualifying round matches of the 2022 World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup to be played in June.

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