Gujarat Giants and Telugu Yoddhas kickstarted their campaigns with impressive victories as the inaugural edition of Ultimate Kho Kho began with a bang at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge, Pune, Maharashtra on Sunday.
While Gujarat defeated Mumbai Khiladis by 25 points, Yoddhas beat Chennai Quick Guns by a closer 10 points margin, that was easier than the scoreline suggests.
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Earlier in the opening match of the league, Gujarat notched up 69 points while Mumbai managed to get 44 points in the match.
Gujarat captain Ranjan Shetty won the toss and chose to defend. Mumbai started with the powerplay, activating two wazirs – Durvesh Salunke and Avik Singha – when the batch consisting Vinayak Pokarde, Akshay Bhangare and Mareppa took the field. However, within less than two minutes, they successfully managed to out all three of them.
At the end of the first turn of the match Giants had 22-2 lead.
Coming in the first batch, Rohan Kore tested the Gujarat’s attack in the second turn as he defended from three minutes and two seconds. However, after that Gujarat quickly made a comeback to end the first innings at 26-24 lead.
Mumbai Khiladis recovered to regain the lead with 20 points in the first seven minutes of second innings that put them ahead at 44-30 score. But the Giants defence held out long enough in that turn.
In the decisive final turn, Gujarat played brilliantly to pocket massive 39 points to win the match comfortably.
Telugu Yoddhas also put up a brilliant show to score 48 points compared to Chennai Quick Guns’ 38. Yoddhas started the match well and looked in commanding position with a 29-15 lead at the end of first innings. Chennai Quick Guns, however, tried their best to make a comeback in the second part of the game but ended up on the losing side. Chennai Quick Guns scored 23 points in the second innings but Telugu Yoddhas did enough to tilt the match in their favour by adding 19 more points.
On the second day of league, Rajasthan Warriors and Odisha Juggernauts will kickstart their campaigns as they will take on Mumbai Khiladis and Chennai Quick Guns respectively.