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The Young Cagers were expected to coast to an easy victory over Iran. However, they were taken to task by an energetic Iranian team. Iran's previous participation at the Championships was way back in Kuwait 1977 where they had finished fourth.
India started the game on the backfoot as their key players from the U-16 FIBA Asia Championship Vaishnavi Yadav and Sanjana Ramesh missed out from the squad due to injuries. Pushpa Kumar had to sit out of the Iran game after injuring her ankle during practice.
Tactics: Indians dominated the proceedings at certain periods of the match employing the high press which found the Iranians wanting.
First Quarter: India 23-13 Iran (IND - Ishwarya Janardhanan 8 points; IRN - Fatemeh Aghazadegan Ghazvini 6 points)
India raced away to an 11-point lead with 5 minutes remaining in the first quarter, ending the period with a lead of ten points. Ishwarya Janardhanan with a brace of three-point jump shots and a lay-up scored eight points for India.
Second Quarter: India 40(17) - 35(22) Iran (IND - Sreekala Rani 8 points; IRN - Fatemeh Aghazadegan Ghazvini 12 points)
India led by 18 points in the second period when Iran hinted at a comeback with seven minutes remaining for the end of the first half by keeping the Indians scoreless for six minutes. Ghazvini had an excellent quarter garnering twelve points through layups from quick breaks. Rani who scored a trio of jump shots restored a five-point lead for India.
Third Quarter: India 56 (16) – 47 (12) Iran (IND - Sreekala Rani and Anumaria Chenganamattathil 4 points each; IRN - Fatemeh Aghazadegan Ghazvini 4 points)
India stretched the lead to nine points at the end of the third quarter. In a low-scoring quarter, Ghazvini continued to impress for Iran keeping them in the hunt for a close finish.
Fourth Quarter: India 73 (17) – 65 (18) Iran (IND - Harshitha Kelttira Bopaiah 5 points; IRN - Negin Rasoulipour Khameneh 8 points)
Negin Rasoulipour Khameneh scored a couple of lay-ups, and a three-point jump shot to get Iran to within a couple of points with two minutes remaining in the game. Harshitha came up with a couple of two-point jump shots which took India to an eight-point victory over Iran who had re-entered the competition after a hiatus of 41 years.
Turning Point: After Iran leveled the score in the second period, India scored quick points in succession to re-assert their dominance through Sreekala Rani’s efforts.
Stats: Iran excelled with 37 defensive rebounds while India collected 27 offensive rebounds. India had an astonishing 19 steals in the game while Iran had 30 turnovers.
Star players: Anumaria Chenganamattathil was the star of the game scoring 11 points, 15 rebounds, and two blocks along with an assist, a steal and a turnover to finish with a player efficiency rating of 18.
Result: India defeated Iran 73-65 (23-13, 17-22, 16-12, 17-18)
India - Sreekala Rani 19 points, 7 assists; Anumaria Chenganamattathil 15 rebounds; Dharshini Thirunavukkarasu 6 steals
Iran – Fatemeh Aghazadegan Ghazvini 22 points; Negin Rasoulipour Khameneh 14 rebounds
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