Though the 41-year-old scored against Maldives in an international friendly, the country's all-time highest goal-scorer failed to find the back of the net in subsequent competitive fixtures for the Blue Tigers.
League winners Mohun Bagan Super Giant will fancy their chances of completing a double when they take on a formidable Bengaluru FC in the final of the ISL Cup in Kolkata on Saturday.
Punjab FC stun Bengaluru FC 5-4 in penalty shootout to seal maiden Super Cup semi berth
The Islanders thus finish the league season at the sixth spot with 36 points, whereas the Gerard Zaragoza-coached side end their league campaign with 38 points.
Sunil Chhetri, coming off the bench, scored a brace that sealed BFC's second consecutive win in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2024-25 season.
The Blues will look to bounce back and stay in the hunt for the first spot, though they now trail the top-placed Mohun Bagan Super Giant (36) by eight points (28), slightly undoing their impressive run in the earlier parts of the season.
NorthEast United and Jamshedpur FC finished fourth and fifth in the league stage and they face against each other on Sunday in Shillong to seal the last remaining semi-final spot.
Bengaluru FC secured qualification to the play-offs and ended Chennaiyin FC's race for the top six after a 1-0 win.
Bengaluru FC notched their fifth win of the Indian Super League with a clinical 3-1 victory against Kerala Blasters FC in Kochi on Friday.
Sunil Chhetri came up with two late goals as Bengaluru FC edged past Mohammedan SC 2-1 in the Indian Super League in Kolkata on Wednesday.
Bengaluru FC's academy graduate Vinith Venkatesh scored the winner as the Blues picked up their first points of the ISL season with a 1-0 win over East Bengal.
Anwar Ali, his current side East Bengal, and parent club Delhi FC on Thursday moved the Delhi High Court and sought a stay on the suspension imposed on the player.
