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Ajay Thakur: "Thank You everyone. We are number one in the world and no one can match us. This is the biggest moment of my life. This is for my country."
This is just incredible and a culmination of some amazing Kabaddi from the Indian team. They were down at half time and Iran were lurking but Ajay Thakur rose to the level of champions and took India by the scruff of their neck to take them to a superb win.
India have won the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup!!!!
40' India 38-29 Iran - We are into the last minute and Anup is the man in command. Fazel has a go but concedes a point. A bit of comedy there and Iran know it. FULL TIME
39' India 35-28 Iran - Anup Kumar does the smart thing and runs down the clock here. Meraj with the pursuit and he tries the kick. He is pulled back by Surjeet who puts in superb Thigh Hold. What a tackle. Ajay Thakur with the do or die raid and is taken down. Too late for Iran?
38' India 34-27 Iran - Iran get a bonus but it is not enough. Rahul raids next but it is an empty one. Meraj raids next and jumps over defender to get a touch point. What an excellent raid. Referee awards one point but he reviews. The difference is 9 points and Meraj wants to reduce it. SUCCESSFUL.
37' India 34-24 Iran - Two men remaining as India raid through Tomar. Fazel raids and plays on Super Tackle. Ajay Thakur raids with two men left. This can do it for India. WHAT A RAID. He takes both. FOUR POINTS. AJAY THAKUR YOU BEAUTY.
36' India 30-24 Iran - WHAT A RAID by Nitin Tomar. He gets two touch points and India lead by seven points. Super Tackle on as Rahul raids. He is taken down by Fazel. Not good by Rahul here. The difference is five points now. Abbas raids now but it is an empty one. Three men remaining for Iran and Anup comes to raid. He dances around slows the pace. Do or die raid for Iran and he is taken down. India rising.
34' India 27-22 Iran - Another empty raid for Iran and Nitin Tomar is thrust on to the scene. He plays it safe too. India dictating the pace of the game here. Mohsen is brought on by Iran but India are alert. He gets the bonus. Review by India. UNSUCCESSFUL. He gets the bonus. Rahul Chaudhari is brought on.
32' India 27-21 Iran - The match resumes and India are now pro-active. Iran raid but India are having none of it. Nitin Tomar with the ankle hold. Someone has given the Indian defence a rebirth. Iran down to four and Ajay Thakur is raidind. Experience comes into play as he plays safe.
Have India seized the initiative here? Can Iran fight back?
31' India 26-21 Iran - Ajay Thakur has become Virat Kohli here and he is in his zone. He has been scintillating. Let's see how Iran fight back. Not at the moment as Sandeep Narwal blocks Korouki. What a block. Thigh slap by Sandeep. India showing aggression as ANup and Ajay are talking. Ajay raids and he is looking to get a touch off Fazel. It is Meraj. SUPER 10 for Ajay Thakur.
30' India 24-21 Iran - Meraj's empty raid and Ajay Thakur comes on next. WHAT A RAID. What a player. Iran down to two men and India are looking for their first ALL OUT. Ajay Thakur with two men on the mat and gets Meraj. Ajay Thakur is turning on the style here. What a man. Abolfazl next with the do or die. He cannot get anything. ALL OUT. Game turning?
28' India 19-20 Iran - Pardeep Narwal with a do or die raid and he is taken down. Pahlevani with some real muscle. Esmaeil with the do or die raid next and he is taken down. What a tackle. The lethal raider is off. India are seething with rage. Iran down to four and Ajay makes it three. He gets Abozel.
27' India 17-19 Iran - Fazel Atrachali is off and India need to make use of that. Anup Kumar with an empty raid. Esmaeil comes on and is trying to kick it around. No Sheykh and no Atrachali. Can India capitalise? Nitin Tomar with another empty raid.
25' India 17-19 Iran - An empty raid from Meraj and Ajay Thakur is next. India need a big moment and Thakur produces it. Two Touch Points. Brilliant from raider. Korouki with the do or die and gets the bonus. India review the call. SUCCESSFUL. This is great call and India are within two points of Iran.
24' India 14-19 Iran - India need Ajay Thakur on the do or die and he gets the bonus. Korouki raids and swings the long leg. He is happy to pay on the defence. Anup Kumar raids next and he is avoid Fazel. Great play from Fazel as he denies the bonus.
23' India 13-19 Iran - Meraj with the do or die raid and there is some confusion as Sheykh thinks Chhillar has stepped out of line. Iran challenges the call. This is big. SUCCESSFUL. Manjeet is out. This is not good for India.
22' India 13-18 Iran - Iran start the second half with Meraj Sheykh raiding and it is an empty one. Anup raids next but Fazel does not let him do anything. India need to get on the offensive. Korouki raids next. Empty raid from him as well. Sandeep Narwal raids next as the bonus is available. He decides to play on the do or die.
WE are underway!!!
This has been a stunning display from Iran and they will go into the half with a lot of confidence. India have some thinking to do. The absence of Manjeet Chhillar was quite shocking and Pardeep was not used after a few raids. Will we see more pro-active play from India? Let's see. Second half begins shortly.
20' India 13-18 Iran - Anup Kumar with the bonus and Meraj with the last raid of the half. India will be going into the half with a lot of work to do. HALF TIME
20' India 12-17 Iran - Nitin cannot recreate magic and India are ALL OUT. Iran are dominating and Fazel is leading from the front. India are behind by four points. Rahul Chaudhari raids and Fazel is lurking. He is taken down by the Patna Pirates man. What a block. BULL
18' India 11-13 Iran - Only Nada and Chhillar remain as Meraj raids. He takes a kick off Surender. India down to one man and they bring on Nitin Tomar. He raids looking for the kick and gets the touch point and bonus as well. Brilliant. Super Tackle on but Surjeet is off.
17' India 9-11 Iran - Anup Kumar with the do or die raid and he is taken down. IRan lead by three but no problem as Mohit Chhillar and Surender Nada combine for a SUPER TACKLE. Look at that. Rahul Chaudhari comes on next. He is a big player. Can he shine on the biggest stage? Looks for bonus but cannot get it. Meraj next and takes Rahul Chaudhari off. He was napping there.
15' India 7-9 Iran - Super Tackle on as Abolfazl raids. He plays it safe with an empty raid. Anup Kumar comes on and Fazel is sharp and does not let him have the bonus. Mohit Chhillar comes on for the Super Tackle. Meraj Sheykh raids with the former U MUmba trio lurking. He goes back. TIMEOUT. This is nervy battle.
13' India 7-9 Iran - Abolfazl's empty raid imposes the do or die on India but Ajay Thakur ensures he gets the bonus to draw India level. Meraj Sheykh with Iran's do or die raid. What a raid. He gets two points. Indian defence cannot block him. Iran lead by 2 points now.
11' India 6-7 Iran - Rahul Chaudhari is warming up and he will be replacing Pardeep. Anup gets the bonus to draw India level but Abolfazl takes Surjeet off to put Iran in lead. This is a battle of nerves here. India are playing conservative kabaddi. Anup raids next as Fazel is lurking. Empty raid.
9' India 5-6 Iran - Error of judgement by Abolfazl in the do or die raid. Goes for broke but enters the lobby. He is out. Ajay raids next and is taken down by Pahlevani. India reply through Surender Nada and co, who take down Esmaeil. What a tackle. Pardeep Narwal goes deep into Iran's half and he is brought down by Abozel.
7' India 3-4 Iran - India are playing tactical warfare here. This is such an engaging battle. No team is willing to take a risk. Esmaeil again for Iran but he does not take a bait. Pardeep Narwal to a huge cheer. Raids and is taken down by Abolfazl. Iran lead.
5' India 3-3 Iran - Abolfazl raids after an empty raid from Ajay Thakur and gets the bonus. Pardeep is sent next and he dances around. Does not take risk and goes back. Esmaeil is up next and gets the bonus. Iran are playing on the bonus. Ajay Thakur with the do or die raid. You can block him but you cannot stop him. WHAT A RAID
3' India 2-1 Iran - Empty raid from Mohammedesmaeil though he claims the touch. Ajay Thakur comes on the raid and straight away gets the hand touch. Brilliant from the in form raider. Meraj raids and claims a touch on Sandeep Narwal. Review by Iran. Sparks are flying here. SUCCESSFUL. Iran on the board.
2' India 1-0 Iran - Anup Kumar starts the proceedings with a raid and he looks for a hand touch. Goes back. Meraj comes on for Iran with Manjeet lurking with Surjeet. He goes back too. Quick pursuit from Sandeep Narwal without the skipper noticing. This is interesting. He gets the point. Abolfazl gone. India draw first blood.
India to raid first in this match. The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup final is underway.
A huge roar follows the Indian national anthem. Let the game begin.!!!!!!
National Anthems being sung here and Iranians are first. A lot of passion while they sing it. This passion can be seen in the way they play the game.
This tournament has been nothing short of magic and the final is the Prestige. Let's see what happens.
The roar in the stadium is quite deafening and Iran will have a hard time coping with the same. However, a lot of their players are big stars here and they will be used to playing in such noise.
We are edging closer to the start of the game and the excitement is building. Can Iran surprise India? We will find out over the next hour.
The key man, however, will be Pardeep Narwal in my opinion. He knows a lot about Fazel Atrachali and his agility is certainly going to take a toll on the Iranian defence. His point tally will decide the match in all likelihood. Iran, on the other hand, will need to have Meraj Sheykh on point for the do or die raids because there will be a lot of them.
Ajay has been pure class throughout the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup but he will not have it easy against the Patna Pirates man.
A lot of sub-plots are going to unfold during this game and one of the biggest would be the one between Ajay Thakur and Fazel Atrachali.
It might be said that Iran has a better defence but India's defence has been incredible throughout the tournament.
Surjeet - 20 successful tackles
Surender Nada - 20 successful tackles
Manjeet Chhillar - 21 successful tackles
India have a great balance in their line-up and having Surender Nada back in the line-up is great news for the home side. Iran, on the other hand, are quite solid with Atrachali, Abolfazl and Sheykh all present.
Iran starting 7: Meraj Sheykh (Captain), Mighani, Pahlevani, Mohammadesmaeil, Atrachali, Maghsodlou, Mohammadesmaeil Maghsodloumahalli
India starting 7: Anup Kumar, Surjeet, Surender Nada, Manjeet Chhillar, Ajay Thakur, Sandeep Narwal, Pardeep Narwal
The starting line-ups for both teams are in.
The 2016 Kabaddi World Cup has seen some really shocking results and in fact, it started with one when India lost to South Korea. However, the biggest surprise came when Iran lost to Poland in their last league game.
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India have produced a great comeback to take the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup. Thank you for joining Sportskeeda for this live coverage and we will be back with much more soon. Have a good night and till then KHEL KABADDI