Maharashtra Ironmen and Telugu Talons play out thrilling draw

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Jaipur. The 25th match of the first season of the Premier Handball League between Maharashtra Ironmen and Telugu Talons ended in a draw. The score was 30–30 by the end of the game. This is only the second ever draw in the Premier Handball League.

Two of the best teams in the Premier Handball League – Maharashtra Ironmen and Telugu Talons faced each other in a very exciting match. Both the Talons and the Ironmen had already clinched their spots in the PHL semi-finals prior to this match. Ironmen coach Dr Sunil Kumar rested key players in the match. Chiseliov and Kiyani started the match on the bench, while Naveen Deshwal was left out.

While the Ironmen rested their star players, Fernando Nunes went full force in the starting 7 for this match. The Ironmen got off to a fast start to the match, despite resting their key team members. Manjeet Kumar, Sumit Kumar and Sumit Ghanghas led their team’s attack in the first half. After the Talons fell behind, Iroslav brought on Alexandra Shabanov who began to turn the tide in the Talons’ favor.

By the 15th minute of the game, the score was 7–5 in favor of the Ironmen. The Talons struggled to get into their familiar attack mode, while the Ironmen looked sharp even without Chiselyev and Kiyani. Manjeet and Sumit Ghanghas especially looked in good touch. He consolidated the Ironmen’s lead. Shabanov was playing brilliantly but he was not getting good support from his teammates. The first half ended 16-11 in favor of Maharashtra Ironmen.

Telugu Talons came out in full force in the second half. This made the match look more competitive. Talons managed to get back into the match thanks to Davinder Singh Bhullar, Naseeb Singh and Raghu Kumara. The Ironmen, however, were able to score consistently as Mohit Punia and Vijay Thakur started to possess the ball for longer periods. With this, Maharashtra Ironmen maintained their lead.

Mohit Kumar was playing well for Telugu but he was constantly struggling to find space behind the net. This meant that the Ironmen appeared comfortable with their leads. This team was capable of dealing with any threat posed by the Telugu Talons. In the middle of the second half, the score was 23-19 in favor of Maharashtra Ironmen.

Nunes fielded Kailash Patel for the final quarter of the game. He scored back-to-back goals to cut the Ironmen’s lead and inspired his team to make a late comeback. Davinder Singh Bhullar and Naseeb Singh soon found their attacking rhythm and reduced Maharashtra’s lead to 2 goals in the last few minutes of the match.

Talons were playing well but on the other hand Sushil Kumar and Sunil Sharma were making sure that Ironmen maintain their lead. However, in the last minute of the game, Rahul Nain scored a fine goal. Kailash Patel then scored another goal with the last throw of the ball, which meant the Talons had equalized and the match ended 30–30.

Manjeet Kumar was the top scorer for his team with 9 goals in the match, while Davinder Singh Bhullar was the top scorer for the Talons with 7 goals. Manjeet Kumar was awarded the Most Valuable Player of the Match award.

Final Score – Maharashtra Ironman – 30, Telugu Talons – 30

Match Highlights Link (Note: Highlights will be uploaded within 24 hours of play): https://www.youtube.com/@PremierHandballLeague

Premier Handball League
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Tomorrow’s Matches:

Match 27 – Golden Eagles Uttar Pradesh vs Delhi Panzers (June 21, 2023 at 7:00 PM)

Match 28 – Proud Gujarat vs Telugu Talons (June 21, 2023 at 8:30 PM)

Live On: Sports 18-1 (HD & SD) and Sports 18 will be streamed live on Khel and JioCinema.

Venue – Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium, Jaipur

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