India crushed Chinese Taipei 5-0 in the opener of the four-nation Intercontinental Cup, played at the Mumbai Football Arena. Captain Sunil Chhetri scored a hat-trick for the home side in a largely one-sided game. Udanta Singh and Pronay Halder were the other scorers.
Chinese Taipei are ranked 121 in the world, but had won all their games this year before playing India. Indian coach Stephen Constantine played a full-strength squad.
Chhetri opened the scoring in the 14th minute, and though he missed several chances in the following minutes, he doubled his tally by the 35th minute, thanks to a team effort.
The hosts went into the halftime break with the scoreline at 2-0. Just three minutes into the second half, Udanta dribbled his way into the box and slotted the ball inside the far post.
Fifteen minutes later, Sunil Chhetri bagged his hat-trick, after missing several chances. Halder put the final nail on the coffin with India's fifth goal in the 78th minute.
Chinese Taipei had barely anything to show as India's Gurpreet Singh had little to do all night.
Chhetri, who now has 60 goals for India, notched up his first hat-trick after eight years. India will now play Kenya on June 4 and New Zealand on June 7. The final will be held on June 10.
Having qualified for the Asian Cup to be held next year, the Intercontinental Cup is viewed as a warm-up tournament for Constantine's men ahead of the big one.