ISL final: Vishal Kaith the hero as ATK Mohun Bagan triumph
In slow motion, Pablo Perez fell on his knees; hands on head, eyes moist and a look of despair on his face. In warp speed, a bunch of green-and-maroon shirts sprinted past him and jumped on the goalkeeper Vishal Kaith; ATK Mohun Bagan’s Mr. Reliable was buried in a mountain of bodies.
Kaith’s remarkable save followed by Perez’s missed penalty meant ATK Mohun Bagan won their first-ever Indian Super League crown on Saturday, beating Bengaluru FC 4-3 in shootouts. The see-sawing final, which ended in a 2-2 draw after extra time, came down to a battle of wits between arguably two of the best goalkeepers in the country: Kaith, who won the golden glove this season for the most number of clean sheets, and Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who had made the most number of saves.
But it was Kaith, who has b...