Gujarat Giants and Telugu Yoddhas extended their winning starts in the inaugural edition of Ultimate Kho Kho by securing contrasting victories at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge, Pune, Maharashtra on Tuesday.
While Gujarat Giants were made to work hard by Odisha Juggernauts for a close five-point win, Telugu Yoddhas banked on Adarsh Mohite’s all-round show to notch a comfortable 21-point victory over Rajasthan Warriors.
It was a second successive victory for both sides.
Odisha Juggernauts ended the first turn with a 23-4 lead. Mahesha P stood out in the first seven minutes of the game scoring eight points by capturing three Gujarat Giants players.
However, with Aniket Pote and Jaggannath Das dismissing two players each, Gujarat Giants fought back during their attack and finished the first innings with a 26-25 score in their favour.
Odisha Juggernauts scored 24 points in the first seven minutes of second half to take a 49-26 lead.
At 49-48, skipper Ranjan Shetty came to the Gujarat Giants’ rescue with less than 90 second left in the game. Ranjan captured an Odisha Juggernauts defender with a sensational pole dive dismissal as Gujarat Giants completed a thrilling 54-49 win.
In the first match of the day, Mohite impressed in the defence as he spent three minutes 43 seconds on the field in the first innings and then scored 10 points to guide Telugu Yoddhas to a convincing 68-47 win.
Rajasthan Warriors won the toss and chose to defend. Telugu Yoddhas started off with the powerplay by activating two wazirs—Sachin Bhargo and Pratik Waikar.
Rajasthan’s Akshay Ganpule and Govind Yadav tested the defence of Telugu Yoddhas and also earned two defence bonus points for the side. However, Arun Gunki captured Govind with a brilliant pole dive to dismiss the first opposition batch in two minutes and 36 seconds as Yoddhas remained aggressive until the end of the first turn to take a 24-2 lead.
Rajasthan Warriors responded well in the attack but Mohite remained not out, spending more than three minutes on the mat to ensure Telugu Yoddhas complete the first innings with a 30-20 lead.
Telugu Yoddhas didn’t let momentum slip and extended their lead by scoring an impressive 36 points in the first seven minutes of second innings while attacking.
They further maintained their dominance in the final turn seal the match comfortably.
Besides Mohite, Prasad Radye scored 13 points for Telugu Yoddhas in attack with two dives while Rohan Shingade also scored 10 points.
For Rajasthan Warriors, captain Majhar Jamadar scored 17 points by capturing six wickets which included six dives. Shushant Kaldhone took four wickets, scoring nine points.
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