FIBA Asia Challenge | India through to quarters after beating Kazakhstan
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The Indian basketball team have qualified to the quarters as the fourth-placed team in Group E, behind China, Jordan, and Chinese Taipei. India defeated Kazakhstan 100-90 in their final group game and will now face Iran, who have remained unbeaten in 7 matches, in the knockouts on September 16.
India took on Kazakhstan in their last group-stage match, and stunning performances from Amritpal Singh, who scored 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists, and Talwinderjit Sahi, 32 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, helped them score a 100-90 win over their opponent.
The Indian team came into the match on the back of their historic win over league leaders China, but they were pegged back in the first quarter as Kazakhstan took the lead at 21-19. However, an explosive performance from Talwinderjit Sahi, who eventually ended the match with 9/14 from the two-point range and hit 4 of his 9 attempted three-pointers, saw India win the second quarter handsomely by a margin of 8 points (32-22) giving them a 10-point lead at halftime.
Kazakhstan fought back, though, and by the end of the third quarter, they tied the match at 71-71. But India's experienced trio of Yadwinder Singh, Amjyot Singh, and Amritpal Singh took them beyond their opponent's reach with some memorable play in the final quarter. India scored 29 points in the fourth quarter compared to the 19 of Kazakhstan as Amritpal's late dunk took India to a 100-90 win and booked their place in the next round.
