Second half goals from Sandesh Jhingan and Jeje Lalpekhlua condemned visiting Nepal to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of India in their one-off international friendly at the Mumbai Football Arena on Tuesday.

Nepal, who had to play the last 20 minutes with a man down following a sent off of skipper Biraj Maharjan, conceded the first goal in the 60th minute. Jhingan broke the deadlock with a left footed-volley that crashed into the top left roof of the net leaving goalie Kiran Limbu stunned.

The visitors were dealt a hammer blow eight minutes later when Maharjan brought down Bikash Jairu at the edge of the area as the last defender to see straight red. Lalpkehula shut the doors for Nepal comeback tapping in a low cross from Md Rafique inside the area.

The South Asian powerhouse India dominated the ball possession in the first half and played almost at Nepal’s half but failed to create threatening chance. Nepal could have scored in the first half injury time but Nawayug Shrestha shot wide at an open net. The forward recovered after falling in a challenge by Indian goalie Gurpreet Singh in one-on-one encounter and shot wide at unguarded post from the danger zone.

India, playing in the absence of injured skipper Sunil Chhetri, created frequent chances after the break. It was Nepal who threatened first in the game when Sujal Shrestha forced Indian custodian Singh to a long stretch dive with a 25-yard scorcher. India, however, kept on pressing and their effort was duly rewarded.

Midfielder Hemant Thapa and defender Bimal Basnet marked their debut for the Nepali national team coming on as second half substitutes in the game. Thapa came as 67th minute replacement for striker Bimal Gharti Magar and Basnet replaced Heman Gurung.

The friendly is a part of both teams’ preparations for their upcoming 2019 AFC Asia Cup Qualifiers matches. While Nepal host Yemen in their second Group ‘F’ match on June 13, India welcome Kygyrzstan in their second Group ‘A’ fixture the same day. Nepal lost their first match 4-1 to hosts Philippines in Manila on March 28.