Sanchita Chatterjee, BS News Agency Kolkata: the cake. In stoppage time, his curling strike from distance rattled the post, but he was quickest to the rebound, drawing a foul from Sairuatkima inside the box. From the spot,
Ajaraie calmly converted to cap a sensational personal display and complete the 6-1 rout.
As the final whistle blew, the Highlanders bench burst with happiness in front of the crowd, lifting the Durand Cup trophies for the second successive year, the first team to do so in 25 years. The result also marked the joint-highest margin of victory in a Durand Cup final since 1896 when Somerset Light Infantry beat Black White by the same score line.
Individual Awards
NorthEast United FC clean swept all the individual awards, with Moroccan forward Alaaeddine Ajaraie emerged as the standout performer of the tournament, claiming both the Golden Ball for best player and the Golden Boot as the top scorer with 8 goals. Goalkeeper Gurmeet was awarded the Golden Glove (2 Clean Sheets) for his consistency and crucial saves.