Watch India Vs. Iran Dubai Kabaddi Masters 2018 Final Live Stream: Start Time, Preview, How To Watch Online

After India hung on to get past a tenacious South Korea side in Friday’s second semifinal match, as the Indian Express reported, the first-ever 2018 Dubai Kabaddi Masters championship final is set, with India facing old rivals Iran to decide the title in the inaugural edition of the Kabaddi Masters, the first Kabaddi tournament ever held in Dubai.

In the first semifinal, the Iranians rolled past Pakistan by a 40-21 score, led by their star all-rounder, Mohammed Maghsoudlou, who will be best known to Indian kabaddi fans for his outstanding efforts with Patna Pirates in the most recent edition of India’s VIVO Pro Kabaddi League.

To find out how to watch a live stream of the India vs. Iran 2018 Dubai Kabaddi Masters championship final see the streaming information at the bottom of this page. The match gets underway at 6:30 p.m. Gulf Standard Time at Al-Wasl Sports Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Saturday, June 30. Viewers in India can log in to the live stream at 8 p.m. India Standard Time, while in the United States, kabaddi fans can watch the action-packed match at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 7:30 a.m. Pacific.

India got off to a slow start against South Korea in its semifinal match, facing a crowd packed with Pakistan fans who chanted “Iran! Iran!” as the Indians struggled to get their footing. But a strong second half let India book their place in the final with a relatively comfortable 36-20 victory, as Indian Express reported.

Six nations started the Kabaddi Masters tournament, divided into two groups who played a double round-robin group stage format. As FirstPost reported, both India and Iran topped their respective groups, each team winning all four matches they played.

Pakistan qualified for the semifinals from Group A with a 2-2 record while Kenya failed to win or draw a match, to be eliminated. Over in Group B, South Korea placed second at 2-2 while Argentina lost all four matches to bring up the rear.

As the Inquisitr has reported earlier, the sport of kabaddi dates back to prehistoric India, and could be described as, roughly, a combination of wrestling and “tag.”

While kabaddi for most of its history is played in any open space, with a surface of nothing more than dirt, the updated, glitzy version played professionally in the 21st century is contested on a large wrestling mat partitioned into territories, as Indian Express explained. Each seven-man team sends one player, a “raider,” into enemy territory — where he must face all seven of defenders, or “antis,” at the same time.

The raider scores by tagging as many “antis” as he can before scampering safely back to his own territory. But there is one catch. The raider has to get in and out without taking a breath. He inhales once before staging a raid, but to make certain that he does not sneak a breath while on the raid, he must chant “kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi” over and over again until he has finished raiding his opponents’ territory.

Watch a preview of the India vs. Iran 2018 Dubai Kabaddi Masters Final in the video below.

To watch a free live stream of the first-ever Dubai Kabaddi Masters tournament championship final, pitting world champions India vs. Iran, use the stream provided by ESPN3, the no-charge, online-only network of the sports media giant ESPN. The ESPN3 streaming network is available automatically with almost any internet service provider subscription.

In India, HotStar will carry the Kabaddi Masters India vs. Iran final live stream, while in the United Arab Emirates Dubai Sports Live will stream the big kabaddi showdown live.