Kalyani (West Bengal), April 8 : Inter Kashi ended their I-League 2023-24 campaign with a 1-1 draw against Sreenidi Deccan FC at the Kalyani Stadium here on Monday. With their title charge coming to an end on Saturday when Mohammedan Sporting were crowned champions, it was more or less a dead rubber for Sreenidi Deccan, who have already confirmed their runners-up spot.

With the draw, Inter Kashi moved to third place in the table with 41 points. Real Kashmir and Gokulam Kerala are behind them with 40 and 39 points, respectively, with both having a game in hand. In any scenario, Inter Kashi will end their maiden season in the top five, mainly thanks to their amazing form in the second half of the campaign which saw them go unbeaten in their last 11 matches.

It took Sreenidi Deccan 41 minutes to open the scoring and they did so with a fine header from David Castaneda Munoz, who leapt the highest to get on the end of a Faysal Shayesteh corner. Having undergone a bit of a rough patch at the start of the season, the Colombian has now scored in six of his last eight matches. He has also reached 10 goals in the current campaign, the third season in a row where he has hit double-digit figures, exhibiting his remarkable consistency for the Deccan Warriors.

Just five minutes into the second half, Inter Kashi were reduced to ten men when defender Sandip Mandi picked up a second yellow card. It was all Sreenidi Deccan after that with the likes of Castaneda, Rosenberg Gabriel and substitute Rilwan Hassan getting several chances. But Inter Kashi defended resolutely in numbers, with goalkeeper Arindam Bhattacharya also pulling off some fine saves to keep the deficit at one goal.

The home side's defensive efforts paid off in the 87th minute when they won a penalty after Edmund Lalrindika was adjudged to have been fouled by Eli Sabia in the box. Spaniard Julen Perez stepped up and confidently slotted it past Ubaid CK to equalise for Inter Kashi. It was the 23-year-old's first-ever goal in the I-League.

Sreenidi Deccan will now return home to Hyderabad to take on Shillong Lajong in their final game of the season on April 13.

/IANS