NEW DELHI: Helped by a controversial penalty decision in the second half, defending champions India overcame newcomers Afghanistan 4-0 to win their sixth SAFF Championship title at the Nehru Stadium on Sunday evening.

The gutsy Afghans matched India till their captain and goalkeeper, Hameedullah Yousufzari was sent off for arguing with referee Sukhbir Singh. In the 71st minute, Jeje Lalpekhula was brought down by Faisal Safa when the Indian striker tried to reach a through ball from Syed Rahim Nabi and Singh awarded a penalty to the hosts. Yousufzari vehemently disputed the decision which led to the red card.

Sunil Chhetri converted a spot-kick after on the second attempt, after Nirmal Chetri’s intrusion into the box rendered the first take void. The goal opened the floodgates as Afghanistan failed to recover from the twin setbacks of conceding a goal and losing their captain.

Sening the kill, India pressed hard nudged ahead and two quick goals in the space of two minutes between the 78th an 80th minutes sealed it in their favour. Capitalising on Safa’s absence in the left-back position, Chhetri played Clifford Miranda on the right who drilled the ball into the far side of the goal. Delhi boy Chhetri’s consistency proved to be a trump card for India who managed to remain calm in the goalless first session.

Egged on by vociferous fans, Chhetri assisted Jeje Lalpekhlua for his team’s third goal. The diminutive Pune FC striker found the bottom right corner to log out the Afghans who had kept the Indian defence busy in the first session. Sushil Kumar, who came in on as a substitute for Miranda in the fiinal minutes, unleashed a thunderbolt to complete the rather flattering scoreline.

However, the beginning of the match had a completely different tenor with the team from the strife-torn nation putting the hosts under considerable pressure. Haroon Fakruddin firing a shot early in the game that had goalkeeper Karanjit Singh scrambling across his goal.

Yousef Mashriqi then relayed a pass for Belal Arezou who beat central defenders Mahesh Gawli and Gourmangi Singh but Karanjit pulled off a fine save with his feet.

As India took its time to settle down and the defence felt the heat, star Afghanistan striker Arezou made a fine pass to Ahmadi who however couldn’t connect on time. In yet another close shave, a through ball almost found the nippy Arezou inside the box but Gourmangi got a leg in to stave off the danger.