Neeladri Bhattacharjee

A cunning goal by India, thunder and lightning over the stadium and a tense contest against a two-time World Cup winner, Uruguay — the first 30 minutes of the international friendly were worth every penny spent to watch the match. But the next hour saw La Celeste pull away with a 6-1 victory over the Blue Tigers at the Salt Lake Stadium here on Tuesday.

For a goalkeeper, one mistake can overshadow an otherwise solid performance. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu knows that better than most. Against Brazil on Saturday, India competed bravely for long periods of the game against the five-time world champion. Gurpreet made two saves from Vinicius Junior, one of the most celebrated stars on the pitch. But two mistakes followed. So did two goals. And that was that. After half-time, he was replaced.

The Salt Lake Stadium on Monday was a potpourri of events – player practices, security checks, press conferences and hundreds of people queueing up outside box office counters. India is scheduled to play Uruguay on Tuesday, the last of the three friendlies for the Blue Tigers in this international window.