A capacity crowd in the Ambedkar stadium could not have asked for a better show of football. India beat Syria in the final of the ONGC Nehru Cup after a nail-biting finish which saw the match decided on penalties.

Indian goalkeeper Subrata Paul was the man of the moment as he pulled off three spectacular saves in the penalties which enabled the ‘Men in Blue’ to win their second consecutive Nehru Cup 5-4.

Earlier Renedy Singh had given India the lead with a curling free-kich in the 114th minute. With the decibel levels soaring as the Indian supporters cheered the team to victory, Syria equalised in the dying seconds of the match to take it to penalties.

India looked set to win again as they led going into the last penalty kick. But Mehrajuddin Wadoo’s kick was saved and Syria equalised with their next spot kick thus taking the match into sudden death.

Subrata Paul saved the second kick in sudden death to ensure an Indian win.