The first day of 2024 proved to be a wonderful one for the Telugu Yoddhas fans as their team picked up their first consecutive win of Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2 by defeating Rajasthan Warriors 27-34 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack on Monday. The Yoddhas are now third on the points table with 12 points, while Rajasthan are languishing at the bottom, still in search of their first win. 

Rajasthan won the toss and chose to defend first. Though the Yoddhas started with the Powerplay in the first Batch, they were unable to fully utilize the advantage. Rajasthan went on to score a 2-point Dream Run, with much thanks to Vrushabh Wagh’s efforts. Telugu forged a comeback in the second Batch, managing to tap them out in around two minutes, but Chennai held their fort in Batch 3, and the Turn ended with the scoreline reading 2-14.

Rajasthan began Turn 2 with a Powerplay as well, but the Yoddhas put up a defending masterclass to block their attack. Not only did their Batch 1 manage to secure a Dream Run, with Avdhut Patil being the last man standing, the Yoddhas Batch 2 put up an impressive display as well to secure a 2-point Dream Run. Telugu gave away only 10 attacking points to Rajasthan to sail into the second half with a 17-12 lead. 

Rajasthan started Turn 2 with resolute spirit and managed to dodge the attackers well, but fell short of a Dream Run by a mere 7 seconds. Yoddhas took their Powerplay in Batch 2, and utilized the extra Wazir advantage well to take all three defenders out within a minute. Batch 3 however, held on, and thanks to Sushant Hajare’s stamina, were able to score a Dream Run, with the score reading 13-33 ahead of the last Turn.

Rajasthan had a 20-point deficit to cover, but Telugu were in no mood to let go. Their Batch 1 scored a Dream Run by being on the mat for 3:12 minutes. Rajasthan tried to forge a comeback with their attackers taking Batch 2 out within 1:17 minutes, but that did not prove to be enough, since Batch 3 held their ground. This resulted in the Yoddhas winning the match with the scoreline reading 27-34.

Rajasthan Warriors will meet Odisha Juggernauts in their next fixture on January 3 in search for their first win, while the Telugu Yoddhas will face Mumbai Khiladis on Wednesday with the aim to keep their winning momentum up. 

Match Awards

Attacker of the Match: Pratik Waikar (Telugu Yoddhas)
Defender of the Match: Aditya Ganpule (Telugu Yoddhas)
Ultimate Kho of the Match: Nilesh Patil (Rajasthan Warriors)