The Maharashtra Ironmen edged out the Telugu Talons in a game that ended 26-30 in favour of Maharashtra, who secured their second victory on the trot in the Premier Handball League.
Match 7 of the inaugural season of the Premier Handball League saw two of the most attacking teams in the league, the Telugu Talons and the Maharashtra Ironmen, take on each other. Both teams looked for a quick start in the game as they started the tie on the front-foot.
Davinder Singh Bhullar, Anil Khudia, and Naseeb were combining beautifully in the opening exchanges to give the Talons an early lead in the tie. Maharashtra Ironmen›s Igor Chiseliov, Manjeet Kumar, and Jalal Kiani were passing the ball fluidly in attack, but seemingly luck was not on their side as they struck the crossbar three times in the first 15 minutes of the game, as per a press release from PHL.
At the 15th-minute mark, the Telugu Talons had established a slender lead as the scores read 7-4 in their favour, while the Ironmen were struggling to make the most of the chances that came their way.
Vijay Thakur of the Ironmen slowly grew into the game and started supporting Chiseliov and Kiani brilliantly to help them find a way to break through the Talons› resolute defence, as by the 20th-minute mark the scores read 8 all.
In the last 10 minutes of the half, the Talons retook the lead. Soon after the half ended 14-12 in favour of the Telugu Talons, an exciting second half beckoned.
