Kabaddi World Cup 2016 Final: India vs Iran — As it happened...

India once again defeated Iran in yet another World Cup final with rock-star Ajay Thakur leading the charge after an indifferent first-half from the defending champions on Saturday at Ahmedabad.

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SECOND-HALF

00:00 - INDIA 38 - 29 IRAN: Another Iranian raider straying on the lobby, and Anup Kumar got a jolly time returning to India court. He was pushed but stayed put.

Last raid of the match coming from Nitin Tomar, and India won yet another world cup.

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1:25 - INDIA 35 - 25 IRAN: With little more than couple of minutes left in the match, skipper Anup Kumar ran down the clock with a cautious raid. Then, on an Iran raid, India took another point with Surjeet leading the defence.

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2:21 - INDIA 34 - 25 IRAN: India running the clock down. Quick raid from Meraj Sheykh, and he returned with two points. Flying skipper. That's what he thought. REVIEW. And it is. Two points to Iran.

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4:00 - INDIA 34 - 24 IRAN: Nitin on raid, but no point for India. Empty raid. Iran on raid, with bonus one. Wasted. India responded with Ajay Thakur on raid on do-or-die.

And what a raid from the superstar. Iran all out, four points.

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4:41 - INDIA 30 - 24 IRAN: Super tackle for Iran, and out Rahul Chaudhuri. After an empty raid from Iran, skipper Anup Kumar killed the clock. Empty raid. Then, Surjeet led Indian defence for another tackle. TIME-OUT.

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6:00 - INDIA 29 - 22 IRAN: Empty raid each for both teams, and sub for Iran. Bonus point to Iran, and Anup Kumar challenged the verdict.

Review wasted by India. No more reviews left for India. Sub for India, Pardeep out for Rahul Chaudhuri. Then, Nitin Kumar returned with two raid points.

Do-or-die raid for Iran. But wasted.

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8:00 - INDIA 27 - 21 IRAN: Ten raid points for Ajay Thakur. He's rock star, as usual. Then, another tackle for India. Thakur on raid, no point this time.

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9:04 - INDIA 26 - 21 IRAN: Start over for Iran, and Anup Kumar resumed the proceedings with another raid. No point, then India brought down the house with a superb tackle.

Ajay Thakur on raid with bonus on. He returned with a raid point. TIME-OUT called by Iran.

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10:00 - INDIA 24- 21 IRAN: ALL-OUT Iran, thanks to a silly mistake from an Iranian raider. He ran out of time.

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11:00 - INDIA 21 - 20 IRAN: Ajay Thakur, after a successful, asked for penalty against a rough play from Iran. Only one point. But score leveled.

On another quick raid, Thakur got rid of Meraj ​Sheykh to give India the lead for the first in the match.

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12:00 - INDIA 17 - 19 IRAN: Do-or-die raid for India and Pardeep Narwal was captured. Then, India responded with a brilliant team defence to captured an Iranian raider. Another point for India, thanks to bonus.

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13:00 - INDIA 17 - 19 IRAN: Anup Kumar on raid, but returned with no point. And the same from Iran captain Meraj Sheykh.

Sub Nitin Tomar on raid for India. And no point. 

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15:00 - INDIA 17 - 19 IRAN: Ajay Thakur on raid again. And India's super raider returned with two points. And Iran, on a do-or-die raid, got another point. Review for India, from Sandeep. Challenging the bonus point. And review successful, No point to Iran.

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16:00 - INDIA 13 - 19 IRAN: Ajay Thakur returned with a bonus point to reduced Iran's lead. After an empty raid from Iran, Anup Kumar on raid for India. But no point.

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17:00 - INDIA 13 - 19 IRAN: Bonus point on for India, and Sandeep Narwal failed to impress. Do-or-die raid for Iran with their skipper. And review called. Mistake from India as Mandeep sat on the lobby. Review success.

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19:00 - INDIA 13 - 18 IRAN: India will need to find Manjeet Chillar in defence. And quick raid from Iran. But an empty one. Anup Kumar on raid for India. Empty one again.

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India failed to play their usual game, and gave easy points to Iran. Poor defence, ineffective raid, with Iran's disciplined game compounded India's misery. Anup Kumar, as usual, led India well but his team-mates have failed the skipper.

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FIRST-HALF

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00:00 - INDIA 13 - 18 IRAN: ALL-OUT India. Sandeep Narwal was no match for Iranian defence. In the last minute, another superb tackle from Iran. Rahul Chaudhuri done.

Iran then took another point  to lead by six points. Surender Nada was left exposed. Anup Kumar on raid, and the skipper returned with a bonus point.

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2:00 - INDIA 11 - 13 IRAN: Surender Nada returned with an empty raid, and Meraj Sheykh on raid, touched Nada. And a brilliant raid from India. Iran responded with another successfull raid.

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3:00 - INDIA 9 - 11 IRAN: Super tackle for India by Mohit Chhillar, and two point for India. Super sub Rahul Chaudhuri on raid. Then, India lost Chaudhuri

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4:00 - INDIA 7 - 10 IRAN: Empty raid from Abolfazl Maghsoudloo. Anup Kumar on raid for India. With four players out, India sub to bring in Mohit Chhillar on for Ajay Thakur. TIME-OUT with an Iran player needing medical attention for his injured finger.

Do-or-die raid for India and Anup Kumar was captured.

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6:00 - INDIA 7 - 9 IRAN: Ajay Thakur on raid after some time. Do-or-die raid, and a bonus for India. Iran's Do-or-die raid, and skipper Meraj Sheykh returned two points. Easy for him.

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10:00 - INDIA 6 - 7 IRAN: Bonus point for India with Anup Kumar leading with example. A quick raid from Iran and Surjeet Singh, the centre was exposed.

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11:00 - INDIA 5 - 6 IRAN: The game got intense with both the team getting a point each on each raid. India lost Ajay Thakur, with Iran sacrificing another raider.

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13:00 - INDIA 3 - 4 IRAN: Anup on raid again, but no success this time. Mohammad Esmaeil on for Iran. Quiet one from Iran two. But they have got Pardeep Narwal, and one point to Iran. India got lucky, with Abolfazl Maghsoudloo getting himself out.

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14:00 - INDIA 3 - 3 IRAN: With a bonus point on bull raid, Iran leveled score. Then, Ajay Thakur returned with a one point to level the score for India.

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17:00 - INDIA 2 - 1 IRAN: First call for review after a raid from Iran. Before that, India got another point with a successful raid. Review success. One point to Iran.

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18:00 - INDIA 1 - 0 IRAN: Skipper Anup Kumar with the first raid. And with no pint for India. Iran captain Meraj Sheykh responded with his own raid, the on the counter Sandeep Narwal got India's first point with brilliant attack in the Iran centre.

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20:02 PM IST: TOSS! Iran called tail, and won. They chose the court, and India raid first.

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19:35 PM IST: Team sheets are out:

India starting VII: Anup Kumar (C) - Raider, Sandeep Narwal - All Rounder, Surjeet Singh - Raider, Surender Nada - Defender, Left corner, Manjeet Chhillar - All Rounder, Ajay Thakur - Raider, Pardeep Narwal - Raider, Centre​

Iran Starting VII: Meraj Sheykh (C) - All rounder, Abozar Mighani - Defender, Soleiman Pahlevani - Defender, Farhad Rahimi - All Rounder, Fazel Atrachali - Defender, Left Corner, Abolfazl Maghsoudloo - Raider, Mohammad Esmaeil - Raider

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19:30 OM IST: Here's paths to the final

INDIA:

Lost to South Korea 32-34
Beat Australia 54–20
Beat Bangladesh 57–20
Beat Argentina 74–20
Beat England 69–18
Beat Thailand 73-20 in the semis

IRAN:

Beat USA 52-15
Beat Thailand 64-23
Beat Kenya 33-28
Beat Japan 38-34
Lost to Poland 25-41
Beat South Korea 28-22 in the semis

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19:25 PM IST: And the wishes pouring in for India

Good Luck Team India for the Kabaddi World Cup Final. We are cheering for you. Hope you bring home the cup. #KabaddiWorldCup2016

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) October 22, 2016

Good luck to the Indian team tonight for the https://t.co/9b7xAnWvxT the Iranians out.#KabaddiWorldCup2016

— Ashwin Ravichandran (@ashwinravi99) October 22, 2016

Wishing India all the best for #kabaddiworldcup2016 let's go @StarSportsIndia

— Mayanti Langer Binny (@MayantiLanger_B) October 22, 2016

19:17 PM IST: With Pakistan unaccounted, thanks to all too obvious reasons, Iran  have become the 'It' team of Kabaddi to challenge India's might. And the 2016 CWC got what the final needed, a repeat of the last two edition's title clash. We are minutes in the first raid in Ahmedabad!

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19:00 PM IST: This is what India captain Anup Kumar said ahead of the final match

Before the most important game of our lives, an open letter to all of India. We need you tonight! #JaiHind #OneBigBlue #2016KabaddiWorldCup pic.twitter.com/7knqQMypch

— Anup Kumar (@IamAnupK) October 22, 2016

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Ahmedabad: The Indian team is all set to take on Iran in the final of Kabaddi World Cup 2016. India are eyeing their third straight World Cup title and it seems quite possible with the form they have been in right through this tournament.

Barring their opening match, where India were shocked by South Korea, the defending champions have been right on the money. In the semi-final against Thailand, India crushed their opponent 73-20.

Iran's win wasn't that convincing enough as they edged past Republic of Korea 28-22 in a closely-fought last four contest at TransArena Stadium. Despite a slow start, Iran`s defence scored 11 points and came up with points at crucial moments to thwart Republic of Korea raiders.

The crowd will be behind India, and if they deliver their all-round show, nobody can stop them from winning their third successive World Cup title.

Here is all that you need to know about the Kabaddi World Cup final:

Date: Saturday, October 22.

Time: 7.45pm IST (5.45pm Iran time, 3.15pm BST, 10.15am ET).

Venue: The Arena, TransStadia, Ahmedabad.

TV listings: India: Star Sports 2, Star Sports 3, Star Sports HD2, Star Sports HD3.

USA: Fox Sports.

Canada: CBN.