The Indian senior men’s team were held 0-0 by Mauritius in their opening match of the Intercontinental Cup 2024 at the GMC Balayogi Athletic Stadium in Hyderabad. In what was head coach Manolo Márquez’s first match in-charge, India kept the lion’s share of the possession but lacked the cutting edge in attack against the 179th-ranked visitors, who defended resolutely to claim a valuable point. It was a game of few chances, with only one shot on target by each side in the entire 90 minutes. However, head coach Manolo Marquez expressed his unhappiness in the game play after the match. “It’s a good game because from here it’s difficult to play worse from this,” he said. India made a patient start, knocking the ball around calmly, while the Hyderabad crowd, witnessing the Blue Tigers after 16 years, cheered loudly for every pass from the get-go. It wouldn’t take long to create the first dangerous chance as Anirudh Thapa’s sixth-minute corner skimmed the back of Manvir Singh’s head and almost fell for Chinglensana Singh rushing at …