Telugu Yoddhas, the GMR Group-owned team, started their Ultimate Kho-Kho Season 2 campaign on a winning note after defeating Mumbai Khiladis 46-44 in a nail-biting encounter.
Telugu Yoddhas played the second match on the opening day of Season 2 of the Ultimate Kho Kho at the Jawahar Lal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Cuttack. For the Yoddhas, Rahul Mandal earned 14 points, the highest from the game, which also helped him win the Attacker of the Match award. Captain Pratik Waikar and Vice-captain Milind Chavrekar contributed 10 and 6 points for Telugu Yoddhas, respectively.
Telugu Yoddhas will next play against Chennai Quick Guns on December 25, 2023 (Monday). The game will be telecast LIVE and exclusively on the Sony Sports Network and can be streamed LIVE on the SonyLIV platform from 8:30 PM onwards.
After winning the toss, Mumbai Khiladis decided to defend first. All-rounder Arun Gunki opened the scorecard for Telugu Yoddhas with an astounding dive. In the '4 Turns' format (2 from each inning), Yoddhas' attackers showcased brilliance in Turn 1 by eliminating the first batch of their opponents within the initial 90 seconds of the game. Capitalizing on this momentum, Milind Chavrekar, Rahul Mandal, Prateek Waikar, and Arun Gunki collaborated to send all four batches of Mumbai to the dugout with the help of eight touch points and three Sky Dives by the end of Turn 1, resulting in a score of 24-0 in favour of the Yoddhas.
However, Mumbai Khiladis staged a strong comeback when they entered Turn 2 as the attacking side. They successfully eliminated all four batches of Telugu Yoddhas, securing a 2-point lead for themselves. By the end of the first inning and Turn 2, the scorecard favoured Mumbai Khiladis at 26-24. Additionally, neither side managed to complete a Dream Run in the first innings
The second innings kicked off with Turn 3, where Telugu Yoddhas again took the mat as the attacking side, implementing a completely different strategy. This time, they relied heavily on Sky Dives and pole dives. In contrast, to Turn 1, where Yoddhas earned 18 points through running touches, they secured 22 points in this turn, all through Sky Dives (14) and pole dives (8). However, they couldn't eliminate all four batches of their opponents. The turn concluded with the scorecard reading 46-26 in favour of the Yoddhas, setting the target for Mumbai.
The final turn of the game, Turn 4, began with the Yoddhas aiming to defend the target they had set for their opponents. Mumbai Khiladis needed 21 points to overtake the Yoddhas, which seemed achievable before the start of the final turn. However, Yoddhas' defenders showcased their acrobatic skills, successfully keeping their opponent attackers at bay while defending a low total. Telugu Yoddhas effectively defended their total and secured a nail-biting 2-point victory, concluding the encounter with a score of 46-44.
