Defending champions Odisha Juggernauts and Chennai Quick Guns played out a thrilling 34-34 draw, while Gujarat Giants defeated Mumbai Khiladis by 34-30 to register their second straight win in the 2023-24 Ultimate Kho Kho on Tuesday.
Deepak Sahoo (eight) scored the most points for Odisha Juggernauts. Ramji Kashyap performed brilliantly for the Quick Guns once again as he scored eight points with three skydives. He also stayed on the mat for more than five minutes with Laxman Gawas to earn important dream run bonus points for his side.
The two teams went toe to toe in the first inning as they pocketed 16 points each, with Quick Guns claiming two dream run bonus points as well.
The third turn saw Juggernauts going into aggressive mode and winning 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 opponents.
However, Chennai Quick Guns managed to win 18 points during the fourth turn to level the match.
Gujarat Giants beat Mumbai Khiladis
Earlier, Abhinandan Patil was the star of the match for Gujarat Giants with 14 points as they defeated Mumbai Khiladis.
Faizankha Pathan, Suyash Gargate and Shubham Thorat also contributed to Giants’ victory by staying on the mat for more than five minutes. For Khiladis, Rohan Kore (eight) 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, the Giants quickly turned the tide during Turn 2 and claimed three dream run bonus points while defending.
They also allowed Mumbai to get only eight 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 the Khiladis 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.