Mumbai, June 04: The Indian football team, under the captaincy of Sunil Chhetri, defeated Kenya by 3-0 in their second match of Hero Intercontinental Cup, on Tuesday. Looking at the attendance figures, it seems that the intensely passionate appeal pitched by Sunil Chhetri made the fans throng the stadium. His message, thanking the fans, after the win was equally heart-warming!

Talking about the attendance figures in the Hero Intercontinental Cup, the first match (India vs Chinese Taipei) saw a very low turnout. It was then, the Indian football captain took to social media and pitched a heartfelt message to the fans -- to come out in numbers and support the Indian football team.

Sunil Chhetri’s message (read request) went viral in no time and even saw fellow sportspersons Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Sania Mirza, and Shikhar Dhawan support his cause. In the first match, the attendance was recorded as low as 2,569 people. However, the match tickets (of India vs Kenya) were sold out a night before the match was scheduled to take place.

The second match of the Hero Intercontinental Cup 2018, yesterday, saw a mammoth crowd turning up at the Mumbai Football Arena, in Andheri, in Mumbai, to support the host team. There were over 9,000 fans in the stadium as India beat Kenya and went a step closer to book a spot in tournament’s final. Taking a note at the fans’ figure, one can say that the impassioned speech struck the right chord amongst the fans.

Looking at the huge support from the crowd, the Indian star forward player took to Twitter, expressing his gratitude. Sunil Chhetri, on his social media account, wrote, “We promise you that if that’s the kind of support we get every time we play for the country, we will give our lives on the pitch. India, this night was special because we were in this together. Those in the stands shouting, and the ones at home cheering - thank you!”

India will be playing their next match in the tournament against New Zealand on June 7. The good news, here, is that the tickets for the match have been sold out already. Can one even imagine that the match tickets of a football match, involving India in India, going sold out, two days before the scheduled date? If you don’t believe us, here is the proof!

India vs New Zealand Hero Intercontinental Cup 2018 Match Tickets Sold Out (Photo Credits: Official BookMyShow Website ScreenGrab)

It is touching to see the people in India taking note of the sport, eventually. With the tickets being sold out and the Mumbai Football Arena tipped to be a full house on Thursday, it is a positive sign for the game of football in the country. India will be locking horns with New Zealand team, and a win in the match would secure their position in the Hero Intercontinental Cup 2018 Final.

Not to forget, India Captain Sunil Chhetri is only three goals short of equalling with Lionel Messi, in terms of most goals scored by currently active players’ list. Chhetri’s brace against Kenya saw him move past Spain’s David Villa in the third position. Will he be able to achieve another feat as India take on New Zealand on June 7? Stay tuned with LatestLY for all the latest updates about Sunil Chhetri and 2018 Hero Intercontinental Cup.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 05, 2018 12:04 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).