India played their second game of the Kabaddi World Cup 2016 against Australia and made it an easy victory, in the end. India, who are known to be giants of the sport faced what was their only second defeat in international competitions at the hands of a gutsy Korean effort in the first match of the tournament.
However, it was a different story that unfolded today, as there was no hint of complacency whatsoever, in the side that went down yesterday to Jang Kun Lee’s effort, as they came back to form to defeat the Australian team by a margin of 34 points, 54-20.
#1 A change in the starting line-up and continuous substitutions
To make amends from the last game, India brought forth changes and fielding an altered squad. The services of Mohit Chhillar were done away with, and Sandeep Narwal, the all-rounder earned himself a place in the starting seven.
Rahul Chaudhari, who did not play to his potential in the first fixture was replaced with young gun and Patna Pirates’ raider Pardeep Narwal. Jasvir Singh, the veteran of sorts, was also sent back to the bench and Deepak Hooda, the attacking all-rounder, was given a chance to prove his worth.
But, a huge lead into the game meant that the bench strength was also tested, with plenty of substitutions being made at regular intervals and the likes of Ajay Thakur, Nitin Tomar, Kiran Parmar, Surender Nada and Rahul Chaudhari, given some game time and the chance to prove their mettle on the mat.
#2 India dominated from the word go
The defense spearheaded by the likes of Sandeep Narwal, Surjeet and Manjeet Chhillar, who even managed to score a Super Five in the first half itself, ensured that the Australian raiders were kept at bay.
Apart from the rare bonus, there were no freebies awarded to the Australians including the likes of skipper Cambell Brown, Kuldeep Singh and Cunningham. When raiding in the opponent’s half, on most occasions the raiders made successful attempts, even notching up a bonus point which the Australian defence did not really try to stop given their aggressive approach.
The Indians went into half-time with a massive 25 point lead thanks to their raiding and strong defence.
#3 Multiple all-outs hurt the Australian’s cause
Cashing in on the inexperience of the Australian team, India inflicted successive all-out on the hapless side, with the very first one coming in the 5th minute itself and the scoreline at 10-0.
As the match progressed, Anup Kumar’s men did not let their rivals make any in-roads and forced yet another all-out in the 11th minute with the score 20-2 in favour of the hosts.
If this wasn’t enough to dampen the Australians, they had to endure a third all-out at the very start of the second half, with India leading 35 to 7.
The narrow nail-biting ,finish finish against South Korea might have built massive pressure on the Indian squad but they put forth a brilliant display of tactics and calmness to slow down the pace of the game.
The fourth and the last all-out in the 36th minute nailed the final nail in the Australian coffin, with the Aussies lagging behind 49-15 at that point.
#4 A frenzy of raiders for India, no tackle points for Australia
In yesterday’s encounter against Korea, Anup Kumar’s men had shown glimpses of the force that they can be but faltered at the very end. But this time around, it was a frenzy of raiders that took to the mat, at one point there were, in fact, 6 raiders/all-rounders’ with only one defender in Surender Nada.
All of them worked in a tandem, with Ajay Thakur pocketing 7 points, young ace Pardeep Narwal picking up 6 points, Rahul Chaudhary amassing 6 points and Kiran Parmar, Sandeep Narwal, and Nitin Tomar also contributing to the win, which would bolster their confidence.
Such an attack meant that the Australian team failed to clinch even a single tackle point against the relentless raiding force.
#5 India playing like a cohesive unit, but the defence still a key point of concern
The Indians looked like an unstoppable force today, playing like a tightly knit unit, showcasing a robust and authoritative attack while raiding. At times, they gave away easy points due to silly errors in the defense.
Australia’s Indian-origin player Kuldeep Singh sneaked in 7 points with the skipper Brown collecting 6 points and Thomas Sharp gathering 4 points with his raids, many of which could have been avoided.
Till the time Manjeet Chhillar was on court, his watertight defense ensured that there were no easy picking for the Australians, but with his substitution, the second half saw bonus points also being given away, which was evident from the 20 raid points on the scoreline for the men from Down Under.
So while the defense is an area for improvement, India, with this win, have sneaked onto the first position in Pool A.
