By Our Correspondent
CUTTACK/BHUBANESWAR: Defending champions Odisha Juggernauts and Chennai Quick played out a thrilling 34-34 draw, while Gujarat Giants defeated Mumbai Khiladis by 34-30 to register their second straight win in the ongoing Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack on Tuesday.
Deepak Sahoo (8) scored the most points for Odisha Juggernauts. Ramji Kashyap performed brilliantly for Chennai once again as he scored 8 points with 3 sparkling skydives. He also stayed on the mat for more than 5.28 minutes with Laxman Gawas to earn important 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.
Odisha Juggernauts and Chennai Quick Guns went toe to toe in the first inning as they won 16 points each, with Chennai claiming two dream run bonus points as well. The third turn saw Odisha going into aggressive mode and getting 18 points. Sahoo notched up six points for the team during the turn. The defending champions also avoided giving any dream run bonus points to their opponent. However, Chennai Quick Guns managed to win 18 points during the fourth turn to level the match.
Earlier, Abhinandan Patil was the star of the match for Gujarat Giants with 14 points. Faizankha Pathan, Suyash Gargate and Shubham Thorat also contributed to Gujarat’s victory by staying on the mat for more than 5 minutes.
For Mumbai Khiladis, Rohan Kore (8) scored the most points in the match. The game began positively for Mumbai Khiladis as they earned a dream run bonus point in the first turn and allowed Gujarat Giants to secure only 14 points. However, Gujarat quickly turned the tide during turn 2 and claimed 3 dream run bonus points while defending.
They also allowed Mumbai to get only 8 points with their sublime defence and carried the momentum forward in the second inning as well. Gujarat Giants notched up 14 points in the third turn while Mumbai won a dream run bonus point as well. However, it was enough for Gujarat Giants to register a victory despite Mumbai earning 20 points in the final turn.
