Telugu Talons and Rajasthan Patriots registered victories on the exciting first matchday of the inaugural Premier Handball League (PHL), here on Thursday.
Rajasthan Patriots clinched a stunning victory in the first-ever match of PHL against Maharashtra Ironmen with the game ending 28-27 in favour of the Patriots. The subsequent and final game of the opening day saw Telugu Talons dominate Garvit Gujarat to secure the victory with the final score reading 39-32 in favour of Telugu.
Rajasthan Patriots vs Maharashtra Ironmen
Rajasthan Patriots faced Maharashtra Ironmen in the first-ever match of the Premier Handball League. The tip-off was won by Rajasthan Patriots as they looked to pile on early pressure on the Maharashtra Ironmen.
Hardev Singh of the Patriots became the first-ever scorer in the league within 3 minutes of the game. Igor Chiseliov inspired the Ironmen and they slowly found a way into the game. The Patriots went a man down as Dmitry Kireev was shown a red card in the first half when the scores were 10-8 in favour of Rajasthan. The first half ended at a score of 14-12 in favour of the Rajasthan Patriots.
Maharashtra Ironmen came out for the second half with fire in their bellies and looked to put the Patriots on the back-foot. The second half saw both teams put in a marvellous display as half-way through in the second half the scores read 21 all. The game took a thrilling turn as both teams were exchanging blows constantly.
The game had a nail-biting conclusion as till the very last minute the game was tied at 27 all. However, a goal via a penalty in the dying embers of the game by the Patriot’s Mohit Ganghas saw them come away with the win in the first ever match of PHL. The final score of the first game was 28-27 in favour of Rajasthan.
For Rajasthan Patriots, Mohit Ganghas and Sahil Malik emerged as the top scorers with 5 goals each, while for Maharashtra Ironmen Jalal Kiani and Igor Chiseliov were the top scorers with 7 goals apiece.
Mohit Ganghas was adjudged to be the best player of the match for his dynamic and inspirational performance that proved to be the difference between the two teams at the end of the tie.
Telugu Talons vs Garvit Gujarat
The second match of the day saw Telugu Talons take on Garvit Gujarat. The match had an explosive start as both teams came out of the block aggressively and were evenly matched in the opening exchanges. Halfway through the first half both teams were tied at 11 all.
However, Telugu Talons started to pull away from Garvit Gujarat as they were finding it hard to contain Davinder Singh Bhullar who was dominating Gujarat despite their efforts to stop him. At the end of the first half the scores read 19-16 in favour of Telugu Talons.
Telugu Talons looked to build upon their slender lead in the second half but Gujarat Garvit looked resolute to find a way back in the tie. Garvit Gujarat were sitting back in front of their goal as Telugu were creating chances at will with Davinder Singh Bhullar and Anil Khudia running riot in the early minutes of the second half.
Gujarat were looking to counter with pace in the hope of catching Telugu off-guard. However, despite Gujarat’s best-efforts half-way through the second half the scores read 32-27 in favour of the Telugu Talons.
Garvit Gujarat were going all-out in the last ten minutes of the tie as they were slowly getting into an attacking groove that saw them mount somewhat of a comeback. But, to no avail as the game ended 39-32 in favour of Telugu Talons, who at the end of the tie had secured a classy victory.
For Telugu Talons, Davinder Singh Bhullar emerged as the top scorer with 8 goals, while Amit Ganghas was the top scorer for Garvit Gujarat in the tie with 8 goals also. The phenomenal display of Davinder Singh Bhullar during the match saw him secure the best player of the match.
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