Chennai Quick Guns ascended to the top of the 2023-24 Ultimate Kho Kho table with a dominating 42-19 victory over Rajasthan Warriors on Monday.
The match featured one of the most memorable defensive performances in the league’s short history with a Chennai Quick Guns batch managing to last six minutes and 58 seconds on the mat – the longest ever, and scored eight dream run points.
The Quick Guns started the match with an excellent attacking turn. They sent back the first Rajasthan Warriors batch within the blink of an eye, with Sachin Bhargo dismissing two defenders with one sky dive.
Rajasthan Warriors’ second batch managed a dream run point but Chennai Quick Guns finished the turn on top with a lead of 16-1.
Then came the defensive masterclass that killed the match. The first Quick Guns batch of Ramji Kashyap, Madan and Vijay Shinde never stopped running as they raked up the dream run points. By the time the final member of the batch – Madan, was dismissed, they were two seconds away from spending an entire turn unconquered and had eight dream run points.
Madan, in particular, was outstanding as he kept eluding the Rajasthan Warriors attackers. The score, at the end of the first innings, read 24-7 in favour of Chennai Quick Guns.
The Chennai Quick Guns attackers made short work of three defending batches in Turn 3, leaving Rajasthan Warriors with the mathematically-impossible task of making up a 33-point gap in the final turn.
The heavy defeat means that Rajasthan Warriors have ended a disappointing campaign without a single victory.
Gujarat Giants beat Telugu Yoddhas
Earlier, the Gujarat Giants earned a comfortable 42-22 victory over Telugu Yoddhas. The Giants started the match off with an excellent defensive performance.
The first batch of Vinayak Pokarde, Akshay Bhangare and Ram Mohan ran rings around the Telugu Yoddhas attackers, aided by a series of successful reviews. When they were done, they had amassed a whopping five dream run points. At the end of Turn 1, Telugu Yoddhas only held a slender 8-5 lead.
However, Yoddhas hit back with a good defensive performance of their own in Turn 2. Their first batch of Lipun Mukhi, Prasad Patil and Arunk Gunki managed four dream run points.
Gunki, in particular, was impressive, spending nearly three minutes on the mat. However, Gujarat Giants seized back the advantage, sending back the next Telugu Yoddhas batch in no time.
The scores, when the innings ended, read 19-12 in favour of the Giants.
The Yoddhas needed a big performance in Turn 3 to find their way back into the match, but that did not happen.
Gujarat Giants’ first and second defensive batches managed three dream run points combined with Ravi Vasave even managing to remain unconquered. That meant that the scores were locked 22-22, heading into the final turn, leaving Telugu Yoddhas with a near-impossible task.
With Gujarat Giants attackers putting up a dominating show in Turn 4, the match ended in a comfortable victory for them.
