Premier Handball League: Rajasthan stun favourites Maharashtra

The Rajasthan Patriots secured a stunning victory against the Maharashtra Ironmen in a game that ended 35-30. The two teams will again take on each other in Semi-Finals 1 set to be played on 24th June 2023 with the game set to kick-off at 7pm.

The Rajasthan Patriots took on the Maharashtra Ironmen in the match 29 of the inaugural season of the Premier Handball League. Igor Chiseliov, Jalal Kiani and Sumit Kumar led the charge for the Ironmen from the first whistle and helped their team take the lead early on.  The Patriots came back into the game thanks to a couple of great saves by their Captain and keeper Atul Kumar. Happy Singh was playing brilliantly for the Patriots as he was a menace to contain for the Ironmen every time he broke forward. Ahmad Al-Otabi was also playing a significant role in the game as he was tasked to man-mark Kiani. Otabi struggled to do so in the early minutes but eventually started restricting Jalal’s influence on the game. He was also making his presence felt in the first half as he scored some crucial goals in the half. By the 15th minute mark, the scores read 7-6 in favour of Maharashtra Ironmen.

The Ironmen made a tactical tweak in the first half itself that saw Jalal get more chances which he was converting efficiently. The likes of Chiseliov, Sumit Kumar and Aman were kept relatively quiet as their influence on the game was waning. On the other hand, Dmitry Kireev, Manish Malik,  Amninder Singh and especially Happy Singh were combining superbly in attack and were scoring consistently. The Patriots took the lead and started to pull away from the Ironmen who were floundering in attack compared to their high-standards. The half came to a close soon after as the scores read 18-16 in favour of Rajasthan.

The Patriots came out for the second half determined to further extend their lead. Ajay Kumar in the Ironmen goal was bearing the brunt of the Patriots rampant attack, as despite his best efforts he could not stem the flow of goals. Kireev and Happy were phenomenal knick as they were uncontainable in the game.  The Patriots extended their lead with ease, halfway through the second half the scores read 30-22 in favour of the Rajasthan Patriots.

The Ironmen were trying their level best to find a way back into the game without their star players Kiani and Chiseliov who were being rested for the upcoming semi-finals against the Patriots. Even though Sumit Kumar was able to score consistently, he had very little support from his teammates as they looked flat in attack and devoid of ideas. While the Ironmen were struggling to score, the Patriots’ Al-Otabi and Manish Malik were able to score freely. The Patriots had established a healthy lead going into the last 10 minutes of the game while the Ironmen players seemed content with the loss. Soon after the game came to an end as the scores read 35-30 in favour of the Patriots.

Happy Singh was the top scorer for the Patriots in this game with 8 goals, while Jalal Kiani was the top scorer for the Ironmen in the match with 7 goals. Dmitry Kireev was adjudged to be the most valuable player of the match.

PHL Media Release