Okay, folks, that is it from the India vs Maldives international friendly. We hope you liked our coverage for the game. Stay connected to NDTV Sports for more. Good-bye.

India not only scored three goals but also maintainted a clean sheet. This will give the side a lot of confidence ahead of its AFC Asian Cup qualification third round match against Bangladesh, which will take place on March 25.

There is the final whistle from the referee and India have won this game by a 3-0 margin. They have simply outplayed Maldives in this international friendly to register their first win after 489 days. Meanwhile, what a memorable comeback this is for India legend Sunil Chhetri! He too got his name on the scoresheet with a superb header.

94' - Ashique tries to score from the left flank and India win a corner. Can they make it 4-0? Mahesh is striking it from the corner. India failed to take advantage of that and the scoreline remains 3-0.

90' - Ashique gave a really good pass to Mahesh but the latter failed to dribble past the Maldives' defence. Five minutes of extra time has been added.

86' - That was a powerful shot from Mahesh on the right post but it was stopped well by the Maldives goalie Shareef. Mahesh hit it really well from outside the box but Shareef dived to his left to block the path of the grounded hit.

83’ - Sunil Chhetri is walking out after getting substituted. He, Liston Colaco and Subhasish Bose are the players who have been replaced by Irfan, Abhishek Singh and Ashique.

76’ - Chhetri has scored his first goal on making his international retirement U-turn. A cross from Colaco and Chhetri's header found the back of the net. What an international comeback for the India legend this is! The Men in Blue are 3-0 up now.

66' - Liston doesn't miss this tie. It was a cross from corner and Liston jumped like a giant to pull off a sensational header. What a stunning header this was! India are in 2-0 lead against Maldives now.

64' - Farukh gave a superb pass to Liston and the latter did got a good hit on it but it was saved well by Maldives goalie.

61' - Apuia and Boris Singh are in. The latter is making his Indian senior team debut. Suresh and Valpuia are the players who are walking out.

56' - Liston tried to put a cross from the left flank but his curling shot went over the post. Farukh then got a pass on the edge of the circle from Chhetri. He needed to take a direct hit from there but he decided to pass the ball back to a running Chhetri at the middle and India lost the ball possession as it was intercepted.

52’ - Farukh had the ball with him and he tried to go ahead with a powerful shot but that went over the post.

47' - Sunil Chhetri came really close to scoring his first goal on comeback to international football after retirement. It was a cross from the corner and Chhetri got a good header but Hamza cleared the ball, denying the India captain a goal.

The international friendly match between India and Maldives has resmued.

There is the half-time in the game. India are 1-0 up against Maldives at the interval. They should have scored more but they missed plenty of close chances. Maldives, on the other hand, could not level India on attack, but they defended pretty well.

India 1-0 Maldives (Half-time)

44’ - That was a really good cross from Vulpuia and Chhetri was ready for the header. Farukh came in between took a header but missed the target. A bit of miscommunication there and India have wasted another opportunity.

41’ - Liston Colaco got a brilliant pass from goalie Vishal Kaith before showing some sensational dribbling skills on the left flank. He eventually got tackled by Hussain Sifaau. The Maldives player got a yellow card for his foul.

38' - Not a good sight this is! Brandon Fernandes has been tackled down and he seems to be in trouble. He could not even walk and now he is being stretchered off. Farukh replaces him in the field and the play resumes. Wait! Farukh has not been able to make it to the pitch yet and India are playing with 10 man.

Rahul Bheke has scored the opening goal!!! It is a stunning header from the star player on a hit from the corner taken by Brandon, and India are 1-0 against Maldives in the 35th minute. It was a curling ball and Bheke timed his jump and header to perfection to put India in the lead.

33' - India got a corner but failed to score again. Mehtab did well to jump high on the shot taken from the right side but failed to keep it on target. The ball went over the post and India just miss yet another opportunity.

29' - A poor pass from Suresh and Maldives are on the attack now after an interception. Ibrahim takes a direct shot and the ball goes over the post.

25' - It was a freekick for India and Liston Colaco nearly scored the opening goal of the match. It was on the left flank well before the box and Liston took a powerful shot, but the ball missed the right post.

India 0-0 Maldives 

21' - Maldives' Naim seems to have hurt his ankle in the process of making a block. We have a short stoppage in play as the physio is currently checking the player. Naim seems good now and the play has resumed.

19’ - India have wasted another opportunity. Suresh passed the ball to Brandon, who was coming into the box. Brandon took the shot from the edge of the box but failed to place it well as the ball missed the right post. He wanted to keep it down but failed to hit it well. 

India 0-0 Maldives 

15’ - Liston was asking for a foul to be given to Maldives player Hussain after he was tackled on the left flank but referee denied the request. India though got a freekick. The chance went begging as a cross failed to find a proper touch by Indian players inside the box.

12' - India earned a corner and Brandon took the hit. He failed to get it on target as the ball was easily cleared by Maldives.

8’ - Maldives forward Hamza took a shot from outside the box but Bheke blocked it well. Had the Indian defender not come in the way of the hit, it would have been really close for India. Maldives get a throw-in.

India 0-0 Maldives 

It is the just the second minute of the game and India came really close to scoring the first goal. Sunil Chhetri showed good cleverless to run with the ball from the left flank and chip it towards the centre when being inside the box, but Maldives' defender came in between and averted the threat.

India 0-0 Maldives 

The international friendly match between India and Maldives has kicked off in Shilong. India are building an attack from the right flank, but the threat has been cancelled by Maldives' defence.

The players of both India and Maldives walk into the stadium for their international friendly match. The national anthems is now taking place. We shall have a start soon.

In the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, India head coach Manolo Marquez said, "It is the first time we are playing here, but I have worked with a lot of coaches and players from here. I knew it's a very nice place.

"I remember when I watched the Durand Cup in Shillong last year, I said, 'Wow, the ground, crowd, atmosphere, everything is nice.' I'm not joking, I said it'd be great if one day, the national team could play here."

The 40-year-old Sunil Chhetri came out of his international retirement earlier this month to help the team successfully navigate the qualifiers for the continent's top football tournament, starting with the March 25 clash. The preparatory match for Manolo Marquez's side marks a historic moment as the Blue Tigers will play in the football-crazy hill town for the first time.

Manolo Mrquez names his India XI as Sunil Chhetri takes the armband. Once again.
Cap number 152. #INDMDV #BlueTigers#IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/HqH31mV9m4

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) March 19, 2025

All smiles on the first day back! #SC11isBack #IndianFootball pic.twitter.com/AuWIC6Jq0W

— Indian Football Team (@IndianFootball) March 16, 2025

For India, the game is a tune-up for AFC Asian Cup Qualification 3rd Round, but the focus of attention will be their legend Sunil Chhetri, who is coming out of retirement to help the team's cause.

Hello everyone, welcome to this space. The Indian football team is set to take on Maldives in an international football friendly match tonight (Wednesday) at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Shillong, Meghalaya. Stay connected for the live score and updates related to the game.