In a thrilling 4-4 tie in Group A of the Santosh Trophy final round on Tuesday, defending champions Kerala overcame a 1-4 deficit.
Kerala, which trailed 1-4 at the half, rallied to score a point in the second half of play.
Karnataka defeated Goa 2-0, while Punjab defeated the host state of Odisha 2-1.
Four points from three games belong to Kerala. Punjab and Karnataka are at the top of the group with seven points after three matches. Maharashtra has two points, whereas Odisha has four. Despite losing all three of their games, Goa is yet to begin their tally.
Maharashtra has a dream start.
Maharashtra took the lead through Sufiyan Shaikh in the 17th minute, and three minutes later, Himanshu Patel made it 2-0.
When Sumit Bhandari scored Maharashtra’s third goal in the 35th minute, Kerala appeared to be destined for a second straight defeat.
In the 39th minute, Kerala’s Vaisakh Mohan scored a goal to tie the score. However, in the 41st, Shaikh gave Maharashtra back its three-goal lead.
Nijo Gilbert saved Kerala by making a penalty kick conversion in the 66th minute.
Arjun lifted the score to 3-4 in the 71st minute, and John Paul equalised in the 78th to preserve a tie.
Odisha will play Kerala on Friday (3 pm).
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