Hyderabad: An India 7 team were beaten 32-33 by a World 7 squad in an all-star match that acted as a start to season 7 of the Pro Kabaddi League here Saturday. The match served as a preview to the season in which the stars of the match will be pitted against each other while playing for their respective franchises.
For the World 7, it was Fazel Atrachali and South Korean raider Jang Kun Lee who set the tone. For India 7, Pawan Sehrawat was the star of the show as he proved that he is one of the most exciting players in the world as he added another Super 10 to his name.
As the second half started, a different World 7 came to the mat as they displayed some good defensive and offensive performances led by Fazal Atrachali and PKL debutant Nabibaksh. But ‘iceman’ Ajay Thakur made sure that the World 7’s score didn’t sneak too close to their score with consistent raid points.
Jang Kun Lee got the danger man Ajay Thakur and Girish Ernak in the 25th minute Do-Or-Die raid for World 7 as they shifted the score to 23-19. Pawan Sehrawat got a Super 10 in the 31st minute when he slipped out of the hold of Abozar Mighani.
Ravinder Pahal made a Super Tackle on Mohammad Nabibaksh with a waist hold in the 37th minute to take the score to 29-26. The last 3 minutes was when the game took a turn. The 39th minute All Out by Mohammad Nabibaksh saw him get Girish Ernak and Nitesh Kumar out and also take the lead in the dying moments of the match to make it 32-30. The match ended with World 7 winning 33-32.
It was a day of great fanfare and action for the fans who supported the kabaddi superstars in large numbers.
PKL 7 begins at the same stadium July 20 with the first match between Telugu Titans and U Mumba. The matches will be telecast live on Star Sports and Hotstar.
(IANS)
