Cameron Watson's eighth-minute penalty led Bengaluru FC to the final of the Federation Cup following a 1-0 victory against I-League champions Aizawl FC in Cuttack.
Bengaluru made the early breakthrough when Alwyn George was brought down inside the box, and Watson stepped up to slot the ball into the bottom left corner.
Playing on the counter, Bengaluru in the 21st minute came close to doubling their lead after Eugeneson Lyngdoh released CK Vineeth onto goal with a well-weighted through ball. The latter's shot, however, was met with Kingsley Eze's hurling body before Vineeth passed it for an onrushing George to capitalise. But George shot the ball over the bar.
On the other end, Aizawl were handed a golden opportunity to equalise after Kamo was found on the far post by a Lalram Chullova cross. Kamo, however, could not make clean contact with the ball and headed it wide of goal.
In the 39th minute, Watson's shot from outside the box rattled the woodwork as Bengaluru adopted a more attacking stance.
Aizawl's head coach Khalid Jamil revamped his side's tactics in the second half and Mahmoud Al-Amna, who was sitting deep in the first half, was given more freedom around the 18-yard box. The Syrian, however, was booked for simulation after he beat two defenders to get into the Bengaluru box and fell in hopes of a penalty.
Aizawl played with a high line, but Bengaluru's compact defending kept them at bay. In the last minute of the game, Aizawl were awarded a penalty, but Lalram Chullova's effort from the spot was saved by Amrinder Singh, securing Bengaluru's passage into the final.
Bagan win derby bragging rights
Goals either side of half-time from Darryl Duffy and Balwant Singh powered Mohun Bagan to a 2-0 victory against East Bengal.
East Bengal were left ruing a number of wasted opportunities, particularly from Rafique and Willis Plaza, as Debjit Majumder was constantly called into action.
For Bagan, the first real attempt at goal came in the 25th minute when a Sony Norde free-kick was parried away for a corner after Duffy was brought down. Sanjoy Sen's men grew into the match and took the lead in the 35th minute when Duffy's deft header off a Norde cross crept into the back of the net.
East Bengal continued to dominate possession and the shots on goal, but couldn't find a way through the Bagan defence. In the 63rd minute, Rafique spurned a glorious opportunity to equalise when he failed to poke the ball home from point-blank range.
Bagan eventually made him pay for that miss, as Balwant doubled the lead five minutes before time, neatly finishing following a pull-back from Katsumi Yusa.