Four minutes into the second-half injury time, Jamshedpur FC central defender Pranoy Halder made a fatal error. After intercepting a cutback by Mohun Bagan Super Giant's Liston Colaco, he mispassed the ball to Anirudh Thapa just outside the box.

The Bagan midfielder waited for a second and played to Lalengmawia ‘Apuia’ Ralte. Making a comeback from injury after missing the first leg of the second semi-final in Jamshedpur, Apuia unleashed a volley from 25 yards. It went like a rocket and, despite rival goalkeeper Albino Gomes getting a faint touch, crashed into the net.

The 58,000 spectators at the Salt Lake Stadium roared in unison. Apuia made a run towards the stands and coach Jose Molina jumped in joy on the sidelines. The stadium was green and maroon. Bagan once again had snatched a win at the death.

Dejected Jamshedpur FC players fell to the ground. Coach Khalid Jamil stood helpless at the bench.

The 2-0 victory — 3-2 on aggregate — took Bagan to the ISL final for the third year on the trot. They will meet Bengaluru FC at the same venue on Saturday. Bagan are now on the threshold of a double — League Shield and ISL Cup.

Jason Cummings gave the hosts the lead seven minutes after the change of ends. Cummings’s corner had Bagan defender Tom Aldred and Jamshedpur FC’s Jordan Murray going for an aerial tussle. Aldred’s head touched Halder and referee Tejas Nagvenkar did not think twice before pointing to the dreaded
spot. Cummings converted the penalty.

Bagan, however, found it difficult to break down a resolute Jamshedpur FC defence. Coach Jamil put two lines of defence and threw the challenge to Bagan to score. For the entire first half, Bagan were inside the rival half but just did not know how to find a chink in the Jamshedpur armour. Even when they managed to break free, goalkeeper Gomes was there to thwart them.

Jamil and his men, despite missing regular defenders Stephen Eze and Ashutosh Mehta, should be lauded for making life difficult for Bagan. Apart from Apuia’s moment of brilliance and the penalty, they were compact at the back. It was not an easy task.

In 2020-21, Apuia, under Jamil, had a breakout season for NorthEast United FC. On Monday, he did not forget to walk up to the Jamshedpur FC bench and provide some comforting words.

That’s the beauty of this game.