By Our Correspondent
CUTTACK/BHUBANESWAR: Gujarat Giants produced a phenomenal all-round display on the mat as they defeated the defending champions Odisha Juggernauts 34-29 in the Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2, while Chennai Quick Guns beat Mumbai Khiladis 36-31 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack on Saturday.
P Narasayya scored the most 8 points for the winning team, whereas Abhijit Patil and Shubham Thorat stayed on the mat for more than four minutes to clinch dream run bonus points.
Promoted by Amit Burman in collaboration with the Kho Kho Federation of India, Ultimate Kho Kho became a huge hit in the first season, emerging as India’s third-largest non-cricket league in terms of television viewership. It also became the first Indian sports league to secure Series A funding, courtesy of the UK-based BNP Group.
Gujarat Giants started the match on the front foot and won 18 points in the first turn while conceding only a dream run bonus point. The following turn proved to be one of the best moments for Gujarat in Season 2 as their first batch of Abhijit Patil, Shubham Thorat and Deepak Madhav earned four dream run bonus points to give the team an 11-point lead before the end of the first inning.
Odisha Juggernauts made a remarkable comeback in the third turn with the batch of Rohan Singade, Vihsal and Shubham Thorat also claiming four dream run bonus points to reduce the deficit. However, Gujarat notched up 12 points in the attack during the third turn as well and in the end, a 14-point last turn wasn’t enough for the defending champions to register a victory.
Earlier, Ramji Kashyap scored 10 points including three skydives for Chennai and also stayed on the mat for more than 4 minutes to earn crucial dream run bonus points for the winning side.
Chasing first, Mumbai Khiladis began the contest on a positive note and earned a total of 16 points. However, Chennai also managed to earn a dream run bonus point that helped them increase their lead in the following turn.
They claimed 18 points before the end of the first inning courtesy of a startling performance from Kashyap, who won six points during the second turn to put his team in a comfortable position.
Subhasis Santra and Hrushikesh Murchavade notched up eight points while attacking in the third turn as Mumbai Khiladis got 14 points to increase the difference between the teams. However, Chennai chased the target easily in the last turn to register their third win in the league.
Telugu Yoddhas will take on defending champions Odisha Juggernauts on Sunday, while Rajasthan Warriors will face Mumbai Khiladis.
The exciting action of Season 2 will be telecasted on Sony Sports Network’s channels and SonyLIV with live coverage of daily two matches starting at 7:30 PM IST.
