It was a fitting finale to the 3-month long competition. The first semi-final was tightly contested, and in the end Anjali & Annie won reasonably comfortably, while Ira & Nitish clinched the second spot in the final by pipping Aastha & Nikhil by the narrowest of margins. The second semi-final saw Devika & Srijit coast to victory, while a strong performance by Viola & Paul beat back the challenge from Tarini & Ajay for the last spot in the final.
The final, for most part, was a neck-and-neck battle between Anjali & Annie and Ira & Nitish. A strong comeback in the final round saw Devika & Srijit catch up with the leaders and eventually tie for second place, but they will rue the rush of blood to the head that saw them say "Indian Crime" to an answer that was "Delhi Crime", that question then passing to Ira-Nitish who snapped up the steal that eventually was the difference between defeat and victory. It is the little turning points like these that make the most entertaining quizzes, and after a nail-biting final three questions that could have resulted in a completely different order on the podium if they had gone differently, Ira & Nitish found themselves in the position of Mixed Doubles Champions! Anjali-Annie, who dominated the early stages of the competition, winning each of the first three legs, will have a couple of rue-minations of their own re the final, but will no doubt be quite content to share the second spot with Srijit-Devika. The team that perhaps popped the champagne open after the final was Viola-Paul, who emerged a very creditable fourth, having punched above their weight in all four legs. Congratulations to all!
Final scores:
