India Look To Continue Robust Record Against Bangladesh In Men's Football

On Tuesday, March 25, India and Bangladesh will face off for the 29th time in international football. The subcontinental rivalry, perhaps the biggest in the region, has been dominated by the Blue Tigers, who have won 14 contests -- including the first one at the 1978 Asian Games -- lost just four, and 10 have ended in draws, as per the AIFF Media Team. The last decade or so has seen plenty of dramatic moments whenever the neighbours have clashed - be it Adil Khan's 88th-minute header that erupted the Vivekananda Yuba Bharati Krirangan in 2019, or Sunil Chhetri's 95th-minute free-kick in the 2013 SAFF Championship.

The last senior-level meeting in the 2021 SAFF Championship ended in a 1-1 draw, with Sunil Chhetri finding the net. The India captain has netted six of India's last seven goals against Bangladesh, who are statistically one of his favourite international opponents. He also scored the penalty in the 1-0 win in the 2023 Asian Games, where he was included as one of the over-aged players in the U23 squad.

To search for Bangladesh's last win over India, you have to go back more than two decades when they won 2-1 in extra time at the 2003 SAFF Championship semi-final in Dhaka. On Indian soil, the Blue Tigers have never lost to the Bengal Tigers.

Defender Sandesh Jhingan kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win against Bangladesh in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in 2021 and also played alongside Chhetri as one of the over-aged players at the 2023 Asian Games.

"Whenever we face Bangladesh, we always know that it's going to be a game with a lot of passion and high intensity. Of course, they are our neighbours, so you can expect that, not just in football, but in every sport. The last time we faced them was at the Asian Games in