India, Oct. 9 -- A doughty draw, snatches of smart football in two heavy defeats and an experience of a lifetime. Neither Khalid Jamil nor his men would have thought of going up against either Panama, Brazil, or Uruguay. Gurpreet Singh Sandhu said his first reaction on learning India's opponents in this window was to check if it was true. But there he was, getting big on Darwin Nunez.

Manvir Singh against Marquinhos; Vinicius Jr smelling leather as Anirudh Thapa fired an overhead clearance; Thapa's goal; Mohammed Sanan making one Uruguay play sit on the floor; Akash Mishra's right foot; Ryan Williams's goal and assist andalmost spoiling Pedro Morisco's debut for the Selecao; Sahal Abdul Samad pulling off a nutmeg against Brazil. They hap...