Having failed to play to their full potential thus far, India face their toughest hurdle when they lock horns with hosts Bangladesh in the semi-final of the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) tournament in Dhaka on Saturday.
The Indians, handicapped to a great extent by the absence of four key players due to injuries, have been lucky enough to secure a semi-final berth but are determined to find their rhythm against the hosts in what promises to be thrilling contest at the Bangabandhu National stadium.
Chasing their third successive title in a tournament which they have traditionally dominated, the depleted Indians need to put up a far more inspiring show against the Bangladeshis, who will be keen to capitalise on home advantage.
India's coach Stephen Constantine, who has been thoroughly disapointed with the performance of his wards in the group matches, will be hoping that the four days of rest and the 'board room' sessions will pay dividends tomorrow.
India's passage to the semi-finals was hardly convincing as they managed to make the grade by virtue of a better goal difference after finishing with four points alongwith Sri Lanka in Group A.
After a shock 0-1 defeat at the hands of arch rivals Pakistan, the Indians did better against debutants Afghanistan to trounce them 4-0 before playing out a 1-1 draw against Sri Lanka in their last match.
The hosts have been quite impressive in the tournament so far with an all-win record in the group league stage.
They began their campaign with a solitary goal win over Nepal and then prevailed over Maldives by an identical margin in their second match. They emerged Group B champions after routing Bhutan 3-0 in their last match.
The last time the two teams met in the regional football carnival was in the 1999 edition final in Goa, which India won 2-0. But this time around, India will certainly feel the absence of their injured striker Baichung Bhutia, who has been the difference between the two teams in the last few years.
Constantine said that he is not interested in looking back and was confident that his wards would be able to put up an improved performance in the crucial match tomorrow.
"We know it will be a tough match. But the pressure will be on the home team," he said after his boys had a light workout.
"Bangladesh are the favourites as I have said on our arrival here. So they will be under pressure from the crowd to win. And if you ask me about my team, I will say that they are not as powerful as our Asian Games squad was, because four key players are absent," the Indian coach said.
Constantine indicated that he would retain the same starting eleven that played against Sri Lanka, barring a last-minute injury.
Despite his miserable performance so far, Constantine has a lot of faith on ageing striker I M Vijayan.
"Vijayan is by far the best player in my team. He also has a shrewd brain and can sniff something out of nothing," he said.
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