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Friday, June 22, 2018

India thumps Pakistan in Kabaddi WC at Dubai 2018


A few years ago, the  phase of an ODI innings between overs 15 to 40 was considered to be dull and insipid -  with batting sides resorting to accumulation. Two new balls were expected to offer some swing to seamers and more runs to batsmen in this period.  Now that is under cloud !!  342, 481, 314 in 44 overs. As England once again ravaged the Australian bowlers - chasing 311 in the 45th over in Chester-le-Street - Sachin Tendulkar said it was high time that cricket revisited the rule of having two new-balls in an ODI.


In FIFA  2018,  Philippe Coutinho and Neymar broke down dogged Costa Rica in injury time on Friday, sealing a 2-0 win for Brazil that propels the five-time champions towards the World Cup last 16. The Central Americans looked likely to hold on for a hard-earned draw, particularly after Neymar had a penalty award chalked off by referee Bjorn Kuipers after he consulted the Video Assistant Referee. But Coutinho and Neymar finally broke through, scoring in the 91st  and 97th  minutes to put Tite's side on the brink of the knockout stages. After a ponderous start, Brazil enjoyed a gradual crescendo during the first period but their dominance in possession was not reflected in chances created.

To us the match of the day was different – it was Kabaddi World Cup at Dubai .. .. of course, World champions India starts as  firm favourites as they locked horns with arch-rivals Pakistan in the opening game of the inaugural six-nation Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 today.   The tournament will provide an excellent opportunity for the Asian countries like India, Pakistan, South Korea and Iran to fine tune their skills before the Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang in August.

Star raider Ajay Thakur, who led India to successive wins against Pakistan en-route their Asian Championship crown in Iran last year, is at the helm.  Besides Thakur, the Indian team also has quality raiders in Rahul Chaudhari, Pardeep Narwal, Rohit Kumar, Rishank Devadiga and Monu Goyat in their ranks. In Deepak Hooda, Manjeet Chhillar, Surender Nada and Girish Ernak, India also boast of top-class all-rounders and defenders to lend a perfect balance to the side. Perhaps the Indian time clearly has the bench strength to field another side in the tournament. 

The Kabaddi World Cup, is an indoor international kabaddi competition conducted by the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) in standard style, contested by men's and women's national teams. The competition has been previously contested in 2004, 2007 and 2016. All the tournaments have been won by India. The current format of the competition involves a round robin group stage, with 6 teams in 2 pools, with the first and second place finishers of each group progressing to the semi-finals.

The 2018 Dubai Kabaddi Masters is a 6 nation Kabaddi Masters series held in the United Arab Emirates for 9 days from 22 June 2018 - 30 June 2018. This is the first international kabaddi sport event to be witnessed in the UAE.  The tournament features defending world champions India, Pakistan, Iran, Republic of Korea, Argentina and Kenya. Al Wasl Sports Club which is in Dubai is set to host all of the matches. 

Indian Union sports minister and former professional shooter, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore  is the Chief Guest and Abhisheik Bachan, owner of kabaddi team in pro-league was also present.  The matches are telecast live in Star Sports Network.

India thumped  Pakistan 36-20 in their opening encounter of the inaugural six-nation Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 a few minutes ago.  After starting the game cautiously, India soon picked up the pace scoring points off successive raids. On the other side, Pakistan raiders looked clueless and were all over the place. The world champions continued with the raiding domination collecting a total of 15 points compared to 9 by Pakistan. Skipper Ajay Thakur led from the front scoring 8 points in the match.  In the defense department as well, India outclassed their opponents clinching 12 tackle points. Pakistan were no way near their opponents  as they got all-out twice during the match. Towards the end, India extended their with tackle points from Ajay Thakur and Rohit Kumar. India will next play Kenya on Saturday.

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
22nd June 2018 @ 21:30 hrs.

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