Bala Devi nets four times in India's 7-1 thrashing of Bangladesh in women's AFC Olympic qualifiers

Yangon: Bala Devi struck four goals to power the Indian women’s football team to a dominating 7-1 win over Bangladesh in their second match of the 2020 AFC Olympic qualifiers on Sunday. Besides Bala Devi, Kamala Devi produced a brace and Sanju scored once as India left behind the disappointment of the draw against Nepal. The first half started off evenly but after the opening goal from India, it became a one-sided affair as an eight-minute blitz featuring three goals completely left the Bangladeshi players shell-shocked at the Thuwunna Stadium. [caption id=“attachment_5521751” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of the Indian team. AIFF[/caption] It was coach Maymol Rocky’s side that created the first chance of the match with Ratanbala Devi’s effort from the top of the box going wide in the fifth minute. Six minutes later, Bangladesh forward Mosammat looked to be through on goal but Dalima Chhibber produced an inch-perfect tackle inside her own box to remove the danger. Having played out a draw against Nepal in their first match, the Indian team was looking to respond in style and 16 minutes into the contest, they opened the scoring from the spot. Bala Devi was brought down by the Bangladeshi left-back inside the penalty area and Kamala Devi, India’s lone scorer in the previous match, made no mistake from the spot, slotting her kick low to the keeper’s right, who could not reach it despite guessing the correct way. Bala, wearing the number 10 jersey, soon had another chance to score but her shot was blocked at the very last moment in the 17th minute. Five minutes later, she successfully converted an excellent cross from the right by Grace Dangmei and opened her account for the competition. In the very next minute, Bala added another to her kitty after stunning the opposition defence with an absolute rocket of a shot from 30 yards that flew in even before the keeper could react. Bangladesh had a chance of their own in the 28th minute but couldn’t convert, while India too squandered an opportunity when Ratanbala Devi’s long-ranger in the 42nd minute hit both posts and went straight into the goalie’s arms. The second half was marked by heavy shower but the Indian side continued its goalscoring run. In the 53rd minute, Kamala scored her second goal by turning in a cross from the right flank after the Bangladesh defence failed to clear the ball away. Bala completed her hat-trick in the 62nd minute by tapping the ball into the empty net after Sanju broke free down the left and unselfishly passed the ball across the goal even as she closed in on the keeper. The left-winger was excellent throughout the game and got the goal she deserved in the 72nd minute with a delightful chip that glided over the keeper and into the net. Just three minutes later, Bala picked up her fourth goal of the afternoon - converting yet another beautiful ball from the left by the tireless Sanju. The Bangladesh side picked up a consolation goal with 10 minutes to go when Krishna Rani scored from a tight angle to deny the Indians a clean sheet. India thus are still unbeaten in the competition with four points from their two matches so far.