Aug 24, 2022, 9:36 AM IST
In-form Chennai Quick Guns completed an impressive hat-trick of victories in the inaugural edition of Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) 2022, as it clinched a sensational 2-point win against Gujarat Giants. On the other hand, Telugu Yoddhas secured the top spot on the points table by thrashing Mumbai Khiladis by 12 points at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Pune on Tuesday. Raising his strong performance in the competition, Ramji Kashyap achieved enormous 20 points with six dismissals, as the Quick Guns finished the exciting match with a 53-51 score. Madan also donated 11 points for the winning side.
While during Telugu Yoddha’s 12-point win, skipper Prajwal KH and Sachin Bhargo put up trustworthy performances. Leading from the front, Prajwal protected for three minutes and a second, while Bhargo recorded an all-round show with 10 points in the attack, along with three minutes and 47 seconds in the defence, handing the Khiladis their third straight flop with a 55-43 score.
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With this win, the Yoddhas also went past the Giants to take the top spot with 12 points. After two consecutive successes, the Quick Guns made a convincing start. But, despite a stern challenge, the Giants contrived to secure a narrow two-point lead with a 27-25 score at the end of the opening innings.
The Quick Guns, however, earned acceleration in the second part of the match, scoring 22 points in the third turn, keeping them ahead with a 47-31 score. They held their nerves further in the critical final turn and didn’t allow the mighty Giants to score enough points before securing a nail-biting victory. Aniket Pote scored 10 points for the Giants.
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Earlier in the day’s opening match, the Yoddhas began aggressively to finish the first innings at 28-20. Helping the Khiladis fightback, in-form Durvesh Salunke gave his best, securing four bonus points with three minutes and 11 seconds defence, besides restricting the Yoddhas to just 23 points.
However, with enough lead in Yoddhas favour at 51-24, Prajwal ensured his side completed the triumph by disbursing more than three minutes on the field. Season’s best defender Salunke proved his mettle again for the Khiladis with a startling defence time of five minutes and 11 seconds, which included a couple of minutes of the first innings.
Salunke also scored six points in the attack, while Avik Singh was the other top performer for the Khiladis with eight points. On Wednesday, Odisha Juggernauts and the Khiladis will square off against the Quick Guns and Rajasthan Warriors, respectively.