Nepal progressed into the final of the SAFF Women’s Championship after they beat India 4-2 on penalties in perhaps the most tension-filled and dramatic encounter in SAFF football history, at the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu on Sunday.

This was only the second time—and second successive time—Nepal defeated the five-time champions India in the SAFF Women’s football history. Nepal had beaten India 1-0 in the semi-finals of the last edition of the tournament for their first ever victory over their South Asian neighbour.

It is the sixth time Nepal have reached the final of the competition as they bid for their maiden international trophy.

On the other hand, India have missed out on the SAFF final for a second straight time.

Nepal will next face defending champions Bangladesh in a rematch of the last edition’s final on Wednesday.

Bangladesh, who are aiming to win their second consecutive title, had earlier in the day thrashed Bhutan 7-1 in their last four clash, at the same venue.

The Nepal-India match was marred by a series of poor umpiring and protests (from fans, players and team officials) that saw the game interrupted for more than 80 minutes over two periods of time.

The first half went smoothly but with few chances, with India first threatening the Nepal box with a double effort from Jyoti Chauhan.

Nepal had a golden chance to take the lead in the 31st minute. Sabitra Bhandari’s powerful shot from the outside of the area rebounded off India goalkeeper Elangbam Panthoi Chanu and fell on the path of Amisha Karki, who rounded off a defender and tried her luck but Chanu was aware and brilliantly kept out Karki’s effort.

Tension started to build after 36 minutes when referee Om Choki denied Nepal a clear penalty that should have been awarded for a handball by India’s Wangkhem Linthoingambi Devi.

The match suddenly turned sour seven minutes into the second half after referee Choki showed striker Rekha Paudel a second yellow and a red.

The sending off of Paudel—who has been the key figure for Nepal this edition and has scored seven goals including five against the Maldives—angered the spectators at the jam-packed stadium as they started throwing bottles and shouted “referee out”.

The crowd’s aggressive behaviour, accompanied by a mini protest from Nepali players and officials, resulted in the game being stopped for about 12 minutes.

Security was thickened around the stadium and the game resumed.

Despite being limited to ten players, Nepal continued to knock on India’s door but it was India who drew the first blood when Sangita Basfore smashed the back of the net past Nepal goalie Anjila Tumbapo Subba with a long-range shot.

The match took a disturbing turn a minute later, thanks to another horrendous mistake from referee Choki.

While India were still celebrating their lead, though in their own half, Choki allowed Nepal a kick-off to restart the play. Sabitra Bhandari looked at the referee to confirm the signal and quickly set up Preeti Rai to score into an empty net.

But Choki surprisingly changed her decision and disallowed the goal following instructions from the assistant referee and fourth official after it was confirmed that the team officials were still inside the ground.

Both the sides started protesting in front of a raucous 16,000 crowd, and the match was interrupted again—this time for over an hour.

Nepali players, following a series of discussions and consultations, finally made their peace and decided to play on.

The match finally resumed at 21:10 pm (local time) and Bhandari heated the chilly atmosphere with an equaliser a minute later after Rai set her through.

The equaliser helped Nepal quickly forget the unlucky moments and setbacks as they kept India under pressure, with Bhandari twice reaching closer to goal and Subba making a spectacular save to deny Purushottam Shirvoikar.

After the regulation time ended in a 1-1 stalemate, the officials decided to skip extra time due to the long delay, and a heated penalty shootout began.

Coach Rajendra Tamang sent in second-choice goalkeeper Anjana Rana Magar to replace Subba for the shootout.

India coach Santosh Kumar Kashyap also brought in Payal Ramesh Basude for the penalty.

But Rana Magar proved better as the substitute goalkeeper paid for the faith kept in her in full, stopping a penalty from Chanu Sorokhaibam after India captain Ashalata Devi Loitongbam missed.

Bhandari, Gita Rana, Sabita Rana Magar converted before Amisha Karki scored the decisive penalty to complete a remarkable comeback victory.

“Thank you so much to all the supporters for their patience,” player-of-the-match Bhandari said. “Today’s victory was possible because of fan support. It is because of them that we were able to come from behind and floor India.”