India vs Uruguay: Thapa Scores but India Fall 6-1 After Lightning Delay

Anirudh Thapa celebrates after scoring India's equaliser against Uruguay in Kolkata.

India Fight Back After Early Uruguay Penalty

Anirudh Thapa had been out of the India squad for two years. On Tuesday night in Kolkata he needed 22 minutes of a friendly against Uruguay to score.

The goal came off a loose ball. Ryan Williams drove through midfield and shot from the edge of the box. Debutant goalkeeper Thiago Cardozo could not hold it, and Thapa, 28, got there first. India had been behind since the 11th minute, when 19-year-old centre-back Pramveer Singh brought down Federico Viñas and Darwin Núñez scored the penalty. At 1-1, Salt Lake Stadium got loud. The official crowd was 37,307 in a ground that holds roughly 65,000.

Lightning Delay Changes the Momentum

Then lightning stopped the match for 34 minutes.

India and Uruguay players battle for possession during their international friendly at Salt Lake Stadium.

Uruguay scored soon after the restart. Nahitan Nández found space on the right and rolled a low ball across, and Maximiliano Araújo tapped in from close range. Rodrigo Zalazar made it three in the 53rd minute. Araújo added his second in the 59th, and substitutes Juan Sanabria and Rodrigo Aguirre finished it at 6-1.

Uruguay players celebrate after scoring during their 6-1 victory over India in Kolkata.

The final score hides the opening half. At the break India had taken more shots and made more entries into the final third than Uruguay, and The Week's match report called it their best half of the window. That half came three days after a 4-0 defeat to Brazil in the same stadium, played in front of a half-empty ground.

Khalid Jamil Takes Responsibility as India Look Ahead

India's coach Khalid Jamil did not use the weather. "I fully blame myself. We should not give any excuse," he said. He named concentration as the main lesson. Uruguay's coach Diego Forlán said India's pressing worked early because his team's passing was slow, and that his side fixed it.

The window ended with a 1-1 draw against Panama, the Brazil loss and this one. The fixtures drew criticism because they followed the federation's decision to pull out of the ASEAN Cup. Jamil defended the schedule and said India has to play teams like these at some point.

The next date for the players is the ISL, which starts on 10 October. Jamil told them to go back to their clubs and not to think they had lost the game alone. India's next international matches are two friendlies against New Zealand in November.