Defending champions Odisha Juggernauts put their recent rocky patch behind them to register a 32-21 victory over Rajasthan Warriors in Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2. The victory was built on a stellar defensive performance that saw the Juggernauts notch 10 dream run points.

However, the victory didn’t see any shift in places for Odisha and Rajasthan, who occupy the fourth and last place on the points table, respectively.

In a case of champions doing champion stuff, Odisha Juggernauts made Turn 1 their territory with perhaps the most incredible defensive performance in Ultimate Kho Kho history. The first batch of Vishal, Gowtham MK and Dilip Khandavi stayed on the mat for six minutes and 22 seconds, scoring seven dream run points.

Dilip, in particular, drove the Rajasthan Warriors’ attackers in circles with his active time of 2 minutes and 39 seconds. Batch two of the hosts would also stay unscathed as the Juggernauts carried a 7-6 lead into Turn 2. It was the first time in Ultimate Kho Kho history that a defending team had taken the lead in a turn.

Rajasthan Warriors entered Turn 2 looking to do some damage control, with their first batch of Vijay Hajare, Sushant Hajare and Vrushab Wagh notching up three dream run points. The confident run of events saw the Warriors reduce the deficit to six points and a score of 15-9 in favour of the Juggernauts at half-time.

Turn 3 took off quickly, as Rajasthan made their first move by sending back Odisha’s first batch early. However, they couldn’t build on that momentum as an Omkar Sonawane-led Odisha Juggernauts batch #3 scored three Dream Run points to cut the Warriors’ slender lead to three points in the final turn.

As it would turn out, the Odisha Juggernauts attackers had no problems overturning the deficit in Turn 4, as they scored 14 attack points to romp off to a 32-21 victory.

While Rajasthan Warriors will face Gujarat Giants on January 5, the Odisha Juggernauts have a couple of days to regroup, recharge and unwind themselves before they entertain the Giants on January 6 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.

Match Awards

Attacker of the Match: Nilesh Patil (Rajasthan Warriors)

Defender of the Match: Dilip Khandavi (Odisha Juggernauts)

Ultimate of the Match: Gowtham MK (Odisha Juggernauts)