The Chennaiyin FC captain revealed the fans were a significant miss over the last two seasons. With India's premier football league returning to the 10 venues across the country, players are thrilled to have the support back from the stands.
While Scottish player Greg Stewart (40', 100' 118') got a hat-trick, former Chennaiyin player Lallianzuala Chhangte (78', 94') scored a brace for Mumbai City.
Both sides shared a similar fate in the group stage as the Islanders collected seven points from four games and topped their group while the Marina Machans picked up as many points and finished second in their group.
Chennaiyin FC beat I-League sides TRAU FC and NEROCA FC 4-1 and 2-0 respectively to finish second in Group C after a poor start and qualify for quarter-finals
Midfielder Anirudh Thapa (15') and Vafa Hakhamaneshi scored in each half to take Chennaiyin FC past the hosts and into the knockout stage of the competition.
A lightning-fast strike from Petar Sliskovic (1') earned him the accolades of being the fastest goalscorer in the tournament's history, which then was followed by a penalty goal from Karikari (20').
Hyderabad FC will face Chennaiyin FC on August 26 and TRAU will face Army Red Football Team on August 28. Chennaiyin FC and Army Red played out a draw in their first match.
Chess legend Viswanathan Anand along with officials of the All India Chess Federation and teams from FIDE, Africa, America, Europe and Asia took part in these matches on Thursday