Premier Handball League: Sumit Kumar stars as Maharashtra Ironmen outplay Delhi Panzers 41-31

Jaipur: Maharashtra Ironmen thrashed Delhi Panzers 41-31 in a high-scoring Premier Handball League (PHL) match thoroughly dominated by the Ironmen as Delhi struggled to deal with the ferocity of their attack.

The 11th match of the inaugural season of the Premier Handball League (PHL) saw the Ironmen start the game in blistering fashion as the attacking trio of Chiseliov, Manjeet and Kiani were rampant in the opening minutes of the game.

They were being backed up superbly by Aman and Sumit Kumar from the wings who were shooting with devastating effect as the Delhi Panzers were struggling to create chances and establish a foothold in the game.

By the 15th-minute mark, the Ironmen had established a lead as the scores read 5-8 in their favour, the Panzers were trying to get into their attacking rhythm but were floundering to score consistently. The captain and star player of the Delhi Panzers, Deepak Ahlawat was also struggling to find his finishing touch in the first half.

Thanks to the Ironmen’s fluid and blistering attack they were able to extend their lead further. By the end of the first half the scores read 21-12 in favour of the Maharashtra team as the Panzers were finding it hard to breach the Ironmen’s defence consistently in the first half.

The Panzers’ star players, Bhupender Ghanghas and Ashok Nain, were missing a lot of chances that boosted Maharashtra’s confidence early on in the second half. While the Panzers captain Ahlawat got into his attacking groove, it was too one-dimensional and was easily being contained by the Ironmen.

Chiseliov and Kiani continued scoring with venomous shots and kept extending their lead. Ahlawat was hoping to inspire his team but the rest of the Panzers team were struggling to cope with the pace of the game.

Halfway through the second period, the scores read 31-19 in favour of the Ironmen who looked unstoppable going forward, while the Panzers looked deflated. Even Naveen Deshwal in the Ironmen goal was in fine knick as he made some impressive reflex saves that seemingly dealt a massive blow to the Panzers’ confidence in the second half.

Captain of Maharashtra, Chiseliov was arguably putting in the individual performance of the season so far as Delhi were struggling to deal with his power and smarts in front of goal. Soon after the game ended 41-31 in favour of the Ironmen who were thoroughly dominant in the tie as the Delhi Panzers could not cope with their sheer power and ferocity in attack.

Sumit Kumar of the Maharashtra Ironmen emerged as the top scorer for his team with 10 goals, while Ashok Nain of the Delhi Panzers was the top scorer for his team in the tie with 10 goals. Sumit Kumar of the Ironmen was adjudged to be the best player of the match for his stunning performance in attack.

–IANS