India had not beaten Myanmar in their own den since October 1953 when they won 4-2 in a quadrangular tournament held in the then Rangoon (now Yangon). Myanmar beat India 1-0 the last time they met, during the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup qualifiers in Yangon in March 2013.

Myanmar were the better side in the first of the two-legged home-and-away Group A match as they controlled the midfield for most part of the game but India ran away with three full points with Chhetri scoring in the 90th minute from an Udanta Singh assist.

The youthful Myanmar side have been together for some time preparing for this competition and India head coach Stephen Constantine had even conceded before the match that the home team would start as favourites.

Myanmar did all the attacking, especially in the second session when the Indian defence was under seize for long period of time.

But, the Myanmar forward line lacked the finishing abilities and they had very few clear chances at the Indian goal. The Indian defenders were able to thwart the waves of opposition attack before captain Chhetri produced a magical moment to score his 53rd international goal that stunned the large home crowd at Thuwunna Stadium here.

India next play Kyrgyzstan at home on June 13. Macau are the fourth side in Group A and the two top teams will qualify for the final round of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

It was a fast-paced and open match and both sides showed intent to score at the first opportunity. India, ranked 40 places higher than their opponents at 132nd, as usual took some time to settle down but later on, it was an even contest in the first 45 minutes with both teams getting scoring chances.

Myanmar forwards Kyaw Ko Ko and Aung Thu created a lot of problems for the Indian defence with their pace with the home side mostly initiating their attacks from the right flank.

The best chance for the Indian team came at the stroke of the half-hour mark when Robin’s through pass was skied by Jackichand Singh from a handshaking distance to leave the Indian dugout shell-shocked.

At the stroke of the half-time, Chhetri was tackled hard inside the penalty box but the referee didn’t pay any heed to Indian players’ penalty shout. Seconds before the breather, Kyaw Ko Ko almost found the back of the net but his grounder went astray.

Myanmar resumed where they left in the first half. They encashed on their fast-paced wingers to carry out waves of attacks on Indian goal but the visiting defenders showed their resilience to keep the scorecard a clean slate.

The magical moment for India came in the last minute of the match when super-sub Udanta, on a brilliantly executed counter-attacking move, broke free from the right wing to unleash an inch-perfect pass to his talismanic skipper Chhetri who found the back of the net to silence the 20,000-strong crowd.