A less-than-impressive India scored in the dying moments to beat Afghanistan 1-0 and begin their SAFF Championships on a winning note in Dhaka on Saturday.
India, fielding an Under-23 side in the regional tournament, scored through national Under-19 captain Jeje Lalpeklua in the 86th minute to romp home with full points.
Fed by stopper Denzil Franco, Jeje, who substituted Balwant Singh in the 72nd minute, turned in from near the right flank into the Afghan box and his right footer from the acute angle slipped past the goalkeeper.
But Sukhwinder Singh's boys were listless for most part of the match, failing to hold the ball for a length of time leave alone building attacks at the floodlit Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka.
India never looked like a settled team in the first half and failed to create real scoring chances.
India had a close save in the 17th minute of the match. A long throw from the left touchline saw Afghan striker Hadid Mustafa unmarked inside the Indian box and Rawlinson Rodrigues goes in for a body check. Mustafa goes down but the referee waves play on.
In the 30th minute, Afghan striker Kohistan connected a freekick from 25 yards with a diving header but landed straight to Arindam.
After the breather, the Indians were more organised and made some fine moves.
Jeje's introduction in the 72nd minute accelerated the pace of the Indian attack.
India play Nepal on Monday in their second Group A match.
In another Group A match, defending champions Maldives were held to a 1-1 draw by Nepal.
