Playoff Day 1 was a thrilling extravaganza in the Ultimate Kho Kho (UKK) and Day 2, which comes with Qualifier 2 promises to be an exciting contest. Gujarat Giants will tussle it out against Telugu Yoddhas at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge, Pune in the quest to book the second slot in the final.

Let’s have a look at what all to expect on the Playoff matchday 3 of Ultimate Kho Kho.

Qualifier 2: Gujarat Giants vs Telugu Yoddhas

Gujarat Giants have got a second shot of making it to the final as they faced a heavy 57-43 margin defeat against Odisha Juggernauts. They will have to go, switch off and on after this loss and make a strong comeback in Qualifier 2 against Telugu Yoddhas. Even though they are coming into this game after a loss in Qualifier 1, they have been one of the top-performing teams in the tournament so far. Their Defenders were blown away in Qualifier 1 and managed to secure only one Dream Run in the entire game. They will look at their main man, Abhinandan Patil to come to their rescue in the defence. He has remained Not Out on 8 occasions which is the joint-highest in UKK and has 73 points to his name. Their key Attackers to watch out for will be Aniket Pote, who has scored 53 points and Nilesh Patil, who has got 43 points, respectively. In the defence, they have got Akshay Bhangare, Mareppa and Sagar Potdar. In the All-Rounder section, Suyash Gargate and T Jaggannath Das have given them the right balance. They missed the services of their captain, Ranjan Shetty in the previous game and would expect him to make a comeback for this all-important encounter.

On the other hand, Telugu Yoddhas are coming into this game after having a crack against Chennai Quick Guns. They made a strong statement by winning the game with a scoreline of 61-43. They look like an attack-heavy unit but they are also the team with the most defending points (100) in the competition. Adarsh Mohite was the star in the attack in the Eliminator and scored 16 points. The Yoddhas would be hoping for him to continue his run in the next game. Apart from him, they would also expect players like Prajwal K H and Sinam Rokeson Singh to contribute to the attacking department. Avdhut Patil and Deepak Madhav have stood tall in the defence of the Yoddhas. In the All-Rounder category, they have got the trio of Arun Gunki, Pratik Waikar and Rohan Shingade, who have a lot of experience under their belt. It is a do-or-die game for the two sides: the winning team will grab a seat in the final and the losing team will take an exit from the tournament. We can expect this to be a closely-contested match.   

Head-to-Head: 

The teams have squared against each other twice in UKK. When they first met, Gujarat Giants won a close game by a scoreline of 51-48. In the reverse fixture, Telugu Yoddhas claimed a mammoth victory by a 88-21 margin when Gujarat Giants played with a weak lineup.

Where and when to watch?

Watch Ultimate Kho Kho Live and exclusive on Sony Ten 1, Sony Ten 3, Sony Ten 4 and Sony Liv tonight. This game will start at 7:45 IST.