P. Pradeep nodded wide a Dias cross. In the next minute, Dias again curled in a beautiful cross but this time Chettri, who got his first start after recovering from an ankle injury, headed it out.

Dias ran tirelessly throughout the match and was involved in all the moves in the first half from the right flank. But he hardly got any support from other link-men. Central midfeilder Climax Lawrence's poor run continued while newcomer Anthony Pereira failed to impress in his third international match.

Just before the breather, India's good work paid off when taking advantage of a defensive lapse, Bhaichung scored the first goal.

The midfield looked organised in the second half after veteran Renedy Singh replaced Pereira on the left flank. Renedy, who formed an incredible pair with Dias in the 2007 edition, showed why he is rated as one of the top wingers in the country.

Chhetri made it 2-0 for India in the second half. Paul then came up with some brilliant saves. In the last 20 minutes, Paul saved four shots to give India the much-needed win.

The win notwithstanding, coach Bob Houhghton will have to sort out number of problems ahead of tough ties against Sri Lanka and 2007 finalists Syria.

Teams:

India: Subrata Paul; Dipak Mondal, Gourmangi Singh, Anwar, Mahesh Gawli; Steven Dias, Climax Lawrence, N.P. Pradeep (Mehrajuddin Wadoo, 87), Anthony Pereira (Renedy Singh, 70); Sunil Chettri, Bhaichung Bhutia (Sushil Singh, 82)

Kyrgyzstan: Matiash Pavel, Chikishev Sergey, Abitov Faruh (Kasian Vladmir, 55), Zemlianuhin Anton, Mirzaliev Almabek (Siderenko Pavel, 79), Sergey Kaleutin (Murzaev Mirlan, 45), Askarov Davron, Harchenko Vadim, Bokoev Aibek, Amirov Ildar, Usanov Rustom

Referee: Adil Ali (Maldives)