Telugu Titans edge out Patna Pirates 46-39, move closer to title in PKL Eliminator 3
Telugu Titans secured a 46-39 win over Patna Pirates in PKL Eliminator 3, with Bharat Hooda’s 23 points leading the charge. Despite Ayan Lohchab’s record-breaking season, the Pirates’ dream run ended, and the Titans now face Puneri Paltan
Hyderabad: Telugu Titans ended Patna Pirates’ dream run with a crucial and impressive 46-39 win in Eliminator 3 at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday night.
Led by the ever-present Bharat Hooda, who scored 23 points, the Titans will now face season 10 champions Puneri Paltan on Wednesday night for a spot in the final.
On the other end, young Ayan Lohchab delivered another exceptional performance, making history as the first PKL raider to score 20+ points in six games in a single season. He finished the season with 316 raid points, 132 more than his previous season’s tally of 184, playing a key role in the Pirates’ eight-match winning run to the Eliminator 3.
The match began at a high pace, with both teams exchanging points early. Ayan was tackled in his first raid, while Vijay Malik was stopped in the very next move. However, the Pirates soon took control, led by Ayan. He scored a two-point raid by touching Ankit and Praful Zaware, followed by another touch on Shubham Shinde.
A tackle on Titans’ skipper Vijay by Navdeep inflicted the first ALL OUT of the match just six minutes in. Bharat kept the pressure on the Titans with a two-point raid on Balaji D and Deepak. After a series of empty raids, Ankit Rana added a touch point to extend the Pirates’ lead to four points at the end of the first quarter, with the score at 13-9.
Ayan became the fifth player in PKL history to reach 300 raid points in a season after a successful raid on Ajit Pawar, continuing his fine form. He also became the joint-fastest raider (along with Pardeep Narwal and Pawan Sehrawat in season 7) to achieve this milestone, as the Pirates continued to display their strength.
Soon after, Navdeep’s tackle on Bharat in a Do-or-Die raid took the defender to the top of the tackle points standings. However, the Titans remained undeterred. Shubham tackled Ayan, and Chetan Sahu earned a touch off Deepak, narrowing the deficit to just one point. The Titans then inflicted the first ALL OUT on the Pirates, taking the lead to 22-20 at the end of the first half.
The lead extended to three points after Bharat’s successful raid on Ankit, and he completed his Super 10 in his next move after a touch point on Ashish Birwal. Ankit Rana was tackled, and Bharat followed up by getting Navdeep and Deepak, inflicting a second ALL OUT on the Pirates.
This increased the Titans’ lead to 10 points, as they began to run away with the win. Ayan and Navdeep received little support from their teammates, as Balaji D and Ankit Rana failed to score crucial points.
Ayan completed his Super 10 with a successful raid on Shubham Shinde, and the Pirates slowly worked their way back into the game. He then earned a two-point raid with a dubki that got the Titans’ Ankit and Chetan Sahu, setting up a crucial final quarter with the score at 35-28 in the Titans’ favour.
The Pirates inflicted a second ALL OUT on the Titans, cutting the deficit to just five points. Navdeep completed his fourth High Five of the season, while Ayan continued to threaten the Titans’ defence. He was eventually tackled by Vijay Malik, but Bharat continued to lead his team with a successful raid on Balaji D.
For every point scored by the Pirates, the Titans had an immediate response. Titans’ defender Ankit tackled Milan Dahiya, and Bharat, who also reached 200 raid points this season, added crucial touches on Ankit Kumar Rana and Deepak.
As the match reached its climax, Bharat picked up a Super Raid, which sealed the victory for the Titans. The Pirates’ dream run ended with a narrow five-point loss, and the Titans now move on to face Puneri Paltan in Qualifier 2.
