Riding on Nilesh Jadhav's remarkable all-round performance, Odisha Juggernauts clinched a sensational come-from-behind win against Rajasthan Warriors while Gujarat Giants defeated Telugu Yoddhas in another thrilling encounter of the day at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge, Pune, Maharashtra on Thursday.
Apart from P Siva Reddy, who secured 3.18 minutes in defence as well as scored three points, Abhinandhan Patil and skipper Ranjan Shetty also played crucial roles in Gujarat Giants' win by adding nine points each. They won by 3 points in a closely-fought game with score 51-48.
For Odisha Juggernauts, Jadhav recorded 3.22 minutes in the defence and also scored 16 points in the attack that included six dismissals to help his side claim top position on the points table with their fourth successive win by six points with a 51-45 score.
Skipper Dipesh More, was the other top performer of the match, who led Odisha Juggernauts from the front with timely defence of 3.58 minutes.
Having grabbed 21 points in the opening turn, Rajasthan Warriors looked equally strong when they switched to defence as they restricted in-form Odisha Juggernauts to just 17 points. Dilrajsing Sengar and Akshay Ganpule contributed brilliantly, winning bonus points for defence time of 3.25 minutes and 2.35 minutes respectively.
While, Rajasthan Warriors ended the first innings at 27-21 lead, More rescued Odisha Juggernauts by clinching six bonus points for his defence of almost four minutes. Due to More's performance, Rajasthan Warriors had to settle for only 16 points in the third turn.
Ganpule once again stood tall in the defence by spending close to three minutes but Jagannatha Murmu captured him to equal the score for Odisha Juggernauts before they completed a nailbiting win.
For Rajasthan Warriors, Ganpule impressed the most by defending for 5.32 minutes, including 2.57 minutes in the second innings.
Meanwhile, in the tough second encounter of the day, two of the league's best teams, Gujarat Giants and Telugu Yoddhas, produced equal resistance as the scores were locked at 27-27 after the first innings.
Though P Siva Reddy defended 3.18 minutes for Gujarat Giants, Telugu Yoddhas managed to go past the opposition with 46-31 lead with seven minutes left.
With the team trailing by just two points at 46-48, Reddy provided three winning points for Gujarat Giants by dismissing Adarsh Mohite with a skydive.
On Friday, Chennai Quick Guns and Mumbai Khiladis will face challenges from Gujarat Giants and Telugu Yoddhas respectively.
Chennai Quick Guns, Gujarat Giants, Mumbai Khiladis, Odisha Juggernauts, Rajasthan Warriors and Telugu Yoddhas are the six franchises competing in the season 1 of India's first-ever franchise-based Kho-Kho league.
The league is promoted by Amit Burman in collaboration with the Kho Kho Federation of India.
Watch live action on TV: SONY TEN 1 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi & Marathi), SONY TEN 4 (Telugu & Tamil) and SonyLIV.
( With inputs from ANI )
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