India showed their mettle and true form when they beat their Eastern neighbours, Bangladesh to earn a well deserved win on the fifth day of the Kabaddi World Cup.
Both the teams came into the match with different aims and ambitions; India had to show the world why they were the favourites to win the title and what led them to become the undisputed kings of their homegrown sport.
On the other hand, Bangladesh hoped to cause yet another major upset, similar to the one caused by the Koreans on the very first day of the tournament, where they defeated India 34-32 in a match that went down the wire.
This match was a potential quarter-final clash for the hosts, wherein a loss meant that they could be out of the competition and a high margin victory ensuring a sure shot place in the semi-finals, thus a high pressure situation which they effectively handled in style and power, true to their reputation.
Enfin, it was Anup Kumar and Co. that rose to the challenge, ensuring that there were no freebies on offer, and ensuring that Bangladesh did not get a chance to breathe whether it was in attack or while defending in what was a fast-paced encounter.
It was young guns Pardeep Narwal and Ajay Thakur who rose to the occasion with their rampant raids and the defence combining superbly with stunning tackles on display, first from Manjeet and Surjeet and then from the Surender Nada and Mohit Chhillar.
The first half did not start on a positive note for the hosts, with skipper Anup Kumar succumbing to a diving ankle hold from Ferdous Sheykh in the very first raid, a possible statement of intent from the Bangladeshi. However, amends were made with Pardeep Narwal coming into the action and sneaking in a point with a disguised half-dupki to bring the skipper back on the mat.
Seven minutes into the encounter it was even-stevens with the scoreboards pegged at 4 points each. And it was from this point onwards in the match that the Indians made the match their very own.
It started off with a thigh hold of the highest quality by Manjeet Chhillar in the 8th minute on Munshi which was impossible to escape from, Pardeep acted in tow and claimed another raid point to make it 7-4. It was Surjeet then who came to the party to put in a couple of great tackles ably supported by his captain.
In the 10th minute, when an all out loomed large over Bangladesh, Surjeet made sure to inflict one and put the lone raiding ranger out of contention with a strong defensive dash to push the scoreline 13-4 in favour of the hosts.
Pardeep quickly raced ahead with his raids to claim a High 5 while in the defence a bit of downfall was seen, with Sandeep messing up an advance tackle and in the 15th minute, Cheralathan’s effort on Munshi failing due to lack of support.
But these errors were quietly overshadowed by Ajay Thakur’s raids and colossal power on display with Sandeep Narwal’s solo raids which helped the team to a 24-9 lead with 3 minutes remaining in the first half.
Half Time: India 27-10 Bangladesh
The second half was played out in a similar fashion for India with the hosts dominating the proceedings from the very start. Leading the attack was Ajay Thakur, who executed a superb running hand touch in the 21st minute exposing the weakness of the Bangladeshi defense.
The second half was also a story of substitutes coming into the fray as Mohit Chhillar, Nitin Tomar, Surender Nada and Nitin Tomar took to the mat. Come the 28th minute, there was a stunning pursuit from the left corner by Surender Nada to reduce the rivals to one man, and if that wasn’t enough, Nada himself brought down the man with his famed ankle hold to enforce an all-out and take the score to 40-15.
Progressing ahead, it was Surender and Mohit who played like one lethal unit to bring down Bangladesh steadily and render most of their raids by captain Munshi effortless with a superb defence in action.
The 36th minute saw Deepak Niwas Hooda adding one point to the Indian tally while Ajay Thakur who came into his own in the Blue jersey notched up a Super 10 in the very next minute – the scoreline resting at 55-18 in the 38th minute courtesy a Mohit Chhillar block.
In the last two minutes, the Bangladeshi defence brought down an unaware Kiran Parmar but Deepak Niwas Hooda got another raid point.
Full Time: India 57-20 Bangladesh
India will savour this resounding victory, which makes their run to the semi-finals a comfortable one. They next face the men from Argentina, a relatively inexperienced side against whom they are expected to notch up an easy win.
Bangladesh, on the other end, will have to lock horns against the mighty Koreans, spearheaded by Jang Kun Lee, which will surely be a cracker of a contest.
