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India take on Tajikistan in the AFC Challenge Cup final on Wednesday with an eye on grabbing an Asian Cup qualification.

A win at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi will propel India to the 2011 Asian Cup after a gap of 24 years.

After incessant rains at Hydearabad forced the Asian Football Confederation to shift the summit clash and the third place play-off here, the home team is upbeat that they will play at the Ambedkar Stadium where India won the Nehru Cup in August last year, a major international title after a long time.

Bob Houghton's charges have also shown immense fighting spirit in all the matches till the semifinals and they realise they are just one match away from their goal of joining the elite stage of the continent by qualifying for 2011 Asian Cup.

India last played in Asian Cup in 1984 in Singapore where they finished last in their group. Before that they finished runners-up in Israel.

A win on Wednesday will arouse hopes of beginning of a turnaround and awakening of a "sleeping giant" after years of slumber and will go into record books of Indian football which does not have much to write about in terms of recent achievement.

By beating Tajikistan, Houghton's charges will have the feat of winning two international titles within 12 months. It will be the second major title after the 1962 Asian Games gold, though Indian youth team were joint winners with Iran in 1974 Asian Youth Championship.

It will also answer the critics after the debacle in SAFF Cup with Houghton and players getting a lot of flak for losing to Maldives in the final in June. The Indian players are in fact itching to play their "most important 90 minutes" of their career which they said would do a lot of good to India football.

"The final match will be one of the biggest moments of Indian football and making to the Asian Cup is huge," captain Bhaichung Bhutia said.

For his strike partner Sunil Chhetri, Wednesday's 90 minutes will be his most important moments in his career.

"I hope we win tomorrow, it will be the most important 90 minutes of my career. I don't know what will happen but I am itching out to go out and play," he said.

India coach Houghton feels AFC Challenge Cup title will be a big step in reviving Indian football.

"It will be a big day for India. A win tomorrow will put us among the best 16 in Asia," he said.

Beating Tajikistan, the conquerers of DPR Korea in the semifinals, will not be easy but the ambition of rubbing shoulders with top Asian countries in 2011 has suddenly given the incentive to fight to the finish, which the coach has called "immense desire to win".

The two sides have played each other in the group stage and India, who started without four key players in the starting line up then, had to come back from behind to play out a draw.

India have been improving from the first game against Afghanistan in which they needed an injury time goal to get the full three points and then beat formidable Turkmenistan before overcoming Myanmar in the semifinals.

The home team has one more reason to be happy as Tajik striker Davrondzhon Tukhtasunov will miss the final after he was suspended for two matches for hitting a DPR Korea player after the final whistle in their semifinal match on August 7.

For the home team, their back four has been doing a fine job, especially against Turkmenistan and Myanmar with youngsters Gouramangi Singh and Anwar Ali manning the central defence admirably even in the absence senior players Mahesh Gawli and Deepak Mondal.

The return of Steven Dias in the team after the SAFF Cup injury had added much variety and pace in the midfield and his three other colleagues Climax Lawrence, Renedy Singh and NP Pradeep doing well. Renedy has been giving a lot of passes while Climax as usual has been doing his job in the central midfield.

Pradeep though has not been in the menacing form he had shown during the Nehru Cup but the Kerala attacking midfielder may just produce a winner on Wednesday just like he did in the Nehru Cup final.

In the upfront, the good news is that Sunil Chhetri must have got the confidence and hunger after scoring the winner against Myanmar in the semifinals. His senior strike partner Bhaichung has led the team from the front so far and the Indian fans are hoping for another inspiring performance.

Bhaichung is also in the reckoning for the Most Valuable Player award with two goals to his kitty and setting up the Chhetri winner against Myanmar and also instrumental in India's equaliser against Tajikistan.

For Bhutia, it will be big achievement on his 13 years of international career having led the side in the LG Cup in Vietnam in 2002 and Nehru Cup last year.

Tajikistan coach Pulod Kodirov will once again rely on Yusuf Rabiev, who is also in the race for the Most Valuable Player award, to marshal the midfield and also score for his team. Losing semifinalists Myanmar and DPR Korea face each other for the third place play off before the final.