#2 The inclusion of Kean Lewis and Souvik Chakraborty
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After a dynamic performance in the ISL, it was pretty obvious that Kean Lewis was going to make a cut for the first team. However, Sanjay Sen wanted the Delhi duo of Souvik and Lewis to be on the pitch and this decision proved to be a good choice as the match unfolded.
Right from the first whistle, Lewis stood out tall, and the initial attacks of Bagan came through him as he was being fed with long balls from Pritam Kotal, Kingshuk Debnath, and Katsumi.
He came out with flying colours on all the occasions as he excelled with his lovely runs on the left plank and whipped in perfect crosses only to be squandered by the strikers. He put pressure on the Churchill defence as early as the 3rd minute when he brilliantly headed down a Yusa Katsumi free-kick only for Balwant to volley at a defender.
Three minutes later, he upstaged his marker with speed and curled in another delightful cross but it was intercepted by Priyant Singh of Churchill. 7 minutes down the line, Lewis made another spirited run but the attack fizzled out due to lack of players upfront.
As the game progressed, he seemed untenable as he unleashed a battery of crosses from the left wing. Had it not been for the profligacy of Mohun Bagan attackers, the scoreline could have witnessed an epic change. Souvik Chakraborty was a surprise package. Given his ability to shoot the ball from any range, it was expected that his inclusion in the team was to bamboozle them with sudden shots or runs down the wing.
He was a link between the defence and the midfield and was extremely instrumental in providing Lewis with balls. He could have made Churchill pay had it not been a sloppy show from Duffy, who failed to connect with a dinked through ball.
In the dying moments of the game, Churchill had to deploy 3 defenders just to stymie him from making inroads.
