India crashed to a narrow 0-2 defeat against Australia in their 2023 AFC Asian Cup campaign opener, at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Qatar on Saturday. 

Igor Stimac's side had to defend deep in the first-half as their Group B opponents kept majority of the ball and tested the Indian backline with plenty of chances. India also got their fair share of chances early, with Sunil Chhetri coming agonisingly close with a header.

In the second-half, the floodgates opened for Australia as they turned it into a training session. Jackson Irvine opened the scoring in the 50th -minute and then Jordan Bos made it 2-0 in the 73rd-minute.

Placed in a group consisting of Australia, Uzbekistan and Syria, India are the least favourites to qualify for the knockouts.