Iran beat Pakistan 40-21 in the semifinal of the Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 at Al Wasl Sports Complex in Dubai on Friday.
On paper it was an easy victory, but it meant a great deal for Iran which was humbled by Pakistan in the Asian Championship semifinal in November.
Going into the pre-final as Group B winner, Iran showed class, dominating the match against Pakistan as soon as the game began. Iran, which has produced some solid results in the international circuit over the years, sealed a superb win to qualify for the six-nation final event, Thenews.com.pk reported.
The Iranians, led by Mohammad Nabibakhsh’s agile raiding and Mohammad Maghsoudlou’s smart raiding decimated the listless Pakistan outfit, which seemed out of sorts in the absence of regular skipper Nasir Ali, who missed the match because of injury.
Mohammad Malak enjoyed an outstanding game from the left corner and made matters worse for the Pakistan raiders, who failed to find their feet throughout the contest.
Iran started the match with a bang as Nabibbaksh got a super raid in the first minute. Iran was off to a flier as they led 6-1 after three minutes and reduced Pakistan to just one man, The Gulf Today wrote.
Iran inflicted the first all out in the next minute to open up an eight-point gap to lead 9-1. Pakistan got its first raid point in the eight minute as Mudassar Ali scored.
Iran’s defense was proving to be far stronger for Pakistan in the first half. Mohammed Nadeem, Pakistan’s star raider, failed to get on the score sheet in the first 10 minutes.
Pakistan scored its first tackle point in the 11th minute as it trailed 4-14. Qaisir Abbas scored with a two-point raid in the 12th minute for Pakistan. Iran scored two bonus points on the trot to lead 17-8 after 17 minutes.
Pakistan just could not force an all out even when Iran was down to just two men for almost four minutes. Mohammed Maghsoudlou scored a raid point in the 19th minute as Iran led 19-9 at the end of the first half.
Pakistan inflicted an all out in the 24th minute as it trailed 15-20. Maghsoudlou scored another point for Iran. Pakistan tried its best to cut the lead but Iran held its composure, thanks to Maghsoudlou. Iran inflicted an all out in the 33rd minute to lead 30-17 and extinguish all hopes of a comeback from Pakistan.
Pakistan made too many errors under pressure and was lackluster throughout the match. Iran shuffled its pack in the last few minutes and showed strength in depth. Iran inflicted another all out in the 39th minute to assert total supremacy and win the match 40-21.
In the other semifinal match India overcame a slow start to beat South Korea 36-20 on Friday and set up a title showdown against Iran in the final.
India and Iran last faced each other in the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup final where India won by nine points.
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