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India 2 Bhutia (61′,81′) —- 1 Turkmenistan Yusup Orazhmamedov (85′)

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Bhaichung Bhutia scored a brace in an invitational friendly a few weeks ago playing alongside Clarence Seedorf and Michael Schumacher, but this brace against Turkmenistan would be rated as one of his finest performances as it helped India to reach the AFC semi-finals in a water-logged Gachibowli stadium at Hyderabad.

The result ensured that the defensing champions Tajikistan, who thrashed the Afghans, also made it to the last four. India top group A and will now play against the second placed team in Group B - either North Korea or Myanmar.