ndian football captain Sunil Chhetri on Monday said his team's first win in the Asian Cup after more than five decades was the best match of his illustrious international career in which he has out-scored superstar Lionel Messi.
India thrashed Thailand 4-1 in their group opener on Sunday. The 34-year-old goal machine struck on either side of the lemon break in the country's stunning win, the first in Asian Cup since 1964.
"It (Thailand match) stays right top there. I'm fortunate to play a lot of good games for my country but this game is right top there. It's one of those games where the team did really well," Chhetri said from Abu Dhabi when asked to rate the Group A match.
In the process, he became the second highest international goal-scorer among active players with 67 strikes from 105 matches. He went past Argentine superstar Messi, who has scored 65 from 128 matches. Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo is the highest scorer with 85 from 154 matches.
Chhetri, who made his India debut in 2005, said his side did not expect to win against Thailand by such a big margin.
"We were confident of a good show but honestly speaking, we did not think it could have been 4-1. They (Thailand) are a very good side, technically very good. I'm sure none of us could think of a 4-1 win but we were confident of a good outing," he said.
"I am very happy with the performance and it has been a great start for us. I think the team unity, team understanding and spirit played the role behind the win. The indomitable spirit of the team actually is one of the important reasons why we won the game," he added.
A draw against either hosts United Arab Emirates (January 10) or Bahrain (on January 14) could see India through to the round of 16, which, if achieved, will be a historic first for the country.
Chhetri refused to predict anything but said the team will take one game at a time. He, however, agreed that the goal difference of three from the Thailand match could be useful later.
"...We can't predict anything right now. We take one game at a time. As I said, we might not be the strongest team in the group but we'll fight till the end. We are not thinking about qualifying now but just concentrating to do well in the next match and then we'll see where we land," he said.