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Air India play in the I-League, while, Dodsal are playing in their first professional tournament at national stage.
Air India are in the final after beating Delhi United and drawing with Pailan Arrows before edging out Sesa Goa in the semifinals.
Coming into the final, Dodsal had three back to back wins. They had two easy outings against Army Red (3-0) and Punjab Police (6-0) before their mettle was tested against the spirited Assam Rifles, who took the match until the shootout.
Air India have played as a team and have looked the most complete side.
Their forwards- M Pradeep, Neil Gaikward and Lepcha, have looked menacing. Skipper and goalkeeper Harshad Meher-led defence comprise of Ramandeep Singh, Baldeep Singh and Pratik Chaudhary, while, mid-field relies on the dynamism of Micky Fernandes, Souvik Chakravarthy.
In comparison to them, Dodsal lack experience, though, they have shown that they can go all the way.
Mid-fielder Paresh Shivalkar-led side’s scoring ability revolves around couple of hungry strikers in K Thoi Singh and foreign recruit Demba Diakhate.
Besides the captain, there are creative mid-fielders in Mohammad Rafi and Sunil Kumar. Defence team of goalkeeper Arup Debnath, Henry Gangte, Vijay Kumar and N Kali Alaudeen have tackled teams with decent flair.
However, Dodsal, coached by tactfully experienced Bimal Ghosh, need to be weary of Air India, who will start as favourites at Ambedkar stadium.
The former’ players need to work the hardest to keep up the pace with Air India. This time, it will not be easy against the tenacious Airlines boys, who feature regularly in the nation’s top flight football.
Still, Air India need to guard against complacency when they will take on Mumbai players, whom will be desperate to have the world’s third and Asia’s oldest glittering trophy in their names.
The match starts at 6.40 followed by nearly 22 minutes of cultural programmes, in which Tanya Gupta, voice of Jammu and Kashmir, will perform. Besides her, Bhangra artists and couple of Army units will be performing.
If the event goes well and a hellacious Saturday crowd gathers to witness the finale, the organisers, need to be credited for making another successful Durand Cup, despite many obstacles coming their way before the start.
Source – The Pioneer
