Santosh Trophy: Meghalaya's gritty performance hold Kerala to 2-2 draw in Manjeri

In the Santosh Trophy final Group encounter, resilient Meghalaya put forth a gritty performance holding Kerala to a 2-2 draw at the Payyanad Stadium in Manjeri last night.

The tie ensured that the North East team delayed the hosts' smooth entry into the semi-finals. Kerala took the lead in the match through Mohammed Safnad in the 17th minute.

In the 40th minute, Meghalaya's Kynsaibor found the equalizer. Both teams were tied 1-1 at half-time. Figo Syndai put Meghalaya ahead in the 55th minute, but Kerala's Muhammed Saheef managed to get the ball past the Meghalaya goalkeeper in the 58th minute.

In another match yesterday, Punjab crushed Rajasthan 4-0.

Karnataka will take on defending champion Services at the Payyanad Stadium at 8 pm.