The match to be played at the National Football Stadium in Male will kick off at 8.30pm IST and the Indian fans can catch all the action live on Eurosport SD/HD channels.

After a slow start, the Blue Tigers have gradually picked up momentum in the tournament which featured five teams.

India were held by 10-men Bangladesh 1-1 in their opening encounter and it was followed by an equally, if not more disappointing goalless draw against Sri Lanka.

India then beat Nepal 1-0 and that was followed by a resoundig 3-1 against the hosts Maldives which guaranteed them a place in the final.

In 22 matches against Nepal, India have lost just twice to their neighbours but the contest has been a bit more competitive in recent times.

In the last eleven encounters between the two team, India have won seven times, there have been three draws and a Nepali victory.

Despite being the favourties, the mood, in the Indian camp is not much willing to get into a celebration mode.

The boys understand that nothing has been won as yet, and the next 90 minutes can always be extremely cruel

The worst performance for seven-time champions India before this edition was the third-place finish in 2003 and the country has either won or finished runners-up in 11 previous editions.

Chhetri came to the rescue of the team once again against Nepal in the group enocunter, scoring the decisive goal to equal the legendary Pele in the previous match, but the question is how long the country will keep relying on the old warhorse to find the opposition net.

The 37-year-old later added a brace to surpass the Brazilian legend during the win against Maldives and all said and done his form will hold the key to the Indian team’s fortunes.