Cuttack: Gujarat Giants continued their sparkling form as they defeated Mumbai Khiladis 34-30 to register their second straight win in the ongoing Ultimate Kho Kho Season 2 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack on Tuesday night.
Abhinandan Patil was the star of the match for the winning side with 14 points. Faizankha Pathan, Suyash Gargate, and Shubham Thorat also contributed to Gujarat’s victory by staying on the mat for more than 5 minutes.
Promoted by Amit Burman in collaboration with the Kho Kho Federation of India, Ultimate Kho Kho became a huge hit in the first season, emerging as India’s third-largest non-cricket league in terms of television viewership. It also became the first Indian sports league to secure Series A funding, courtesy of the UK-based BNP Group.
For the Mumbai Khiladis, Rohan Kore (8) scored the most points in the match.
The game began positively for the Mumbai Khiladis, as they earned a dream run bonus point in the first turn and allowed the Gujarat Giants to secure only 14 points. However, Gujarat quickly turned the tide during turn 2 and claimed three dream run bonus points while defending.
They also allowed Mumbai to get only 8 points with their sublime defence and carried the momentum forward in the second inning as well.
The Gujarat Giants notched up 14 points in the third turn, while Mumbai won a dream run bonus point as well. However, it was enough for the Gujarat Giants to register a victory despite Mumbai earning 20 points in the final turn.
Mumbai Khiladis will now go up against the defending champions, Odisha Juggernauts, while Rajasthan Warriors will face Telugu Yoddhas on Wednesday.
The exciting action of Season 2 will be telecasted on Sony Sports Network’s channels and SonyLIV, with live coverage of two daily matches starting at 7:30 PM IST.