In the first game of Day 5 held on Friday, Odisha Juggernauts thumped Rajasthan Warriors by a scoreline of 65-46 to move into the top three of the points table. In the second game, Chennai Quick Guns continued the winning momentum to secure a massive 65-45 victory over Mumbai Khiladis at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge, Pune. 

Match 9: Rajasthan Warriors vs Odisha Juggernauts

Odisha Juggernauts’ skipper Milind Chavrekar won the toss and decided to defend first. The Juggernauts began the proceedings with a Dream Run courtesy of some heroics by their Batch 1 Defender, Nilesh Jadhav. The Warriors captain Majahar Jamadar took a Powerplay when Batch 2 came in, with the intention to stretch their lead, but the Odisha Attackers held their nerve to not give away easy points. The Warriors got themselves three Sky Dives and one Pole Dive to take an 18-point lead at the end of seven minutes.

In Turn 2, the Warriors Batch 1 tried to unsettle the Juggernauts’ attack. The Juggernauts took the Powerplay when Batch 2 stepped on the mat and their Attackers were swift on the field. They dismissed this Batch within 1:07 seconds. The Odisha Attackers were unstoppable as they executed a Full On Chase against the Warriors with the help of five Sky Dives and four Running Touches. The Warriors couldn’t add to their tally in this Turn, which meant the Juggernauts entered the halfway mark with a 14-point lead.

After the start of the second inning, the Juggernauts’ Batch 2 Defender Gowtham M K stunned the Warriors with a 4-point Dream Run. Odisha tried giving the Rajasthan Attackers a difficult time on the mat as they made them work hard to get the touch points. By the end of the Turn, the Warriors had managed only a slight 6-point lead, with the match almost settled in Odisha’s favour. 

Odisha took a Powerplay at the start of the final turn and it worked for them as they got the lead within a minute. The Warriors tried making a comeback in the game through a Dream Run, but it wasn’t sufficient enough to recover. The only positive for them was their captain, Majahar Jamadar, as he went past that 50 points mark, becoming the first player to do so in Ultimate Kho Kho. In the end, the Juggernauts registered a whopping 19-point win against the Warriors. 

Match Awards:

Attacker of the Match: Majahar Jamadar
Defender of the Match: Gowtham M K
Ultimate Kho of the Match: Majahar Jamadar

Match 10: Mumbai Khiladis vs Chennai Quick Guns

Chennai Quick Guns’ captain Amit Patil won the toss and asked Mumbai Khiladis to attack first. The Khilaids straightaway went for the Powerplay after the start whistle. They sent back Batch 1 in the dugout within 80 seconds of play. Mumbai Khiladis were in a hurry to add points on display as they went on to lose their only review of the inning against Chennai Defender, Buchannagari Raju. Mahesh Shinde, the Quick Guns Batch 3 Defender opened their tally with a Dream Run. The first of 4 installments came to an end with the Khiladis leading by 24-point.

In Turn 2, Chennai Quick Guns looked focused on the attack as they made some quick moves on the mat to wrap two Batches in 3:04 minutes. Faizankha Pathan, Khiladis’ Batch 3 Defender tried troubling the Quick Guns but they got rid of him to take the lead. The Quick Guns bamboozled the Khiladis with a Full On Chase. They scored a massive 37 points in this turn to have a 13-point advantage at the end of the inning.

The Khiladis looked to resurge when they came to attack for their second attempt and went all out with a Powerplay with the Quick Guns’ Batch 2 Defenders in action. These Defenders added pain to misery for the Khiladis with a 4-point Dream Run. The scores were level at 43 each at the closure of Turn 3 with the fate of the match all but sealed. 

The Quick Guns made their intentions clear as they went for the Powerplay at the start of Turn 4. They were dictating the game on their terms in the final turn and the Khiladis had no answers whatsoever. Chennai Quick Guns were just brilliant on the mat to make it their second consecutive win by defeating Mumbai Khiladis 65-45.

Match Awards:

Attacker of the Match: Ramji Kashyap
Defender of the Match: Amit Patil
Ultimate Kho of the Match: Manoj Patil