kabaddi
India in action in the Kabaddi World Cup 2016IANS

It's the grand finale all the kabaddi fans around the world wanted. India and Iran -- two giants of the sport -- face off in the final game of the Kabaddi World Cup 2016 on Saturday in Ahmedabad. Both the teams are coming into the match at the back of very contrasting wins in the semi-final. LIVE UPDATES HERE.

Iran showed great tenacity, nerves of steel, brute force and tremendous perseverance to edge out South Korea in a thriller to win their semi-final game 28-22 on Friday. Star kabaddi player and the skipper of the Thailand Kabaddi team, Meraj Sheykh, was the man behind it all.

The 28-year-old all-rounder, who plays in the Pro Kabaddi League in India, picked up seven points from the game, while he received tremendous support from the likes of Abozar Mighani and Farhad Milaghardan as well.

India, on the other hand, completely outclassed Thailand in their semi-final on Friday, as they picked up a massive 73-20 win, in which the consistent customers Ajay Thakur, Pardeep Narwal, Surender Nada and of course skipper Anup Kumar remained as impressive as ever.

Pardeep and Thakur picked up as many as 25 raid points between themselves from the match, bringing to light their sensational display once again. Full points for tenacity, perseverance and determination. Both the teams have been bright so far. What needs to be seen on Saturday is who takes the glory.

Quotes

India captain Anup Kumar: "Iran is a good team. We are going to play them with a very cool (mindset) and are going to prepare well for them. We have had a good record against them and will look to maintain it. The strategy depends on the situation of the game. Our raiders have a bit more skill than theirs. I think that gives us the advantage over Iran. We are prepared for every situation and will look to get the win against Iran."

Iran technical manager Kewel Chand Suthar: "We have players who have played in Star Sports Pro Kabaddi. They have the experience of playing against the Indian players, so this helps us in our preparations to face India."

Read about the head to head record and the team squads here.

Schedule

India vs Iran is scheduled for a 7.45 pm IST (3.15 pm BST, 10.15 am EST) start on October 22.

Where to watch live

INDIA: TV - Star Sports 2/HD, Star Sports 3/HD. Live streaming - Hotstar

USA: TV - Fox Sports. Live streaming - Fox Sports Go

UK: TV - Sky Sports. Live streaming - Watch Sky Sports