Fueled by Bharat Hooda’s 23 points, the Telugu Titans ended Patna Pirates’ dream run with an impressive 46–39 victory in Eliminator 3 at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday night. With this win, the Titans advance to face Puneri Paltan on Wednesday in Qualifier 2, where the winner will secure a place in the PKL Season 12 Final against Dabang Delhi.
Despite the defeat, Ayan Lohchab was a standout performer for the Pirates, achieving a historic milestone — becoming the first PKL raider to record six 20+ point games in a single season. His final tally of 316 raid points marked a massive leap from his 184 in PKL 11, serving as the driving force behind the Pirates’ eight-match winning streak leading into the eliminator.
The game began at a frantic pace, with both teams trading early points. Ayan was tackled in his opening raid, followed by Vijay Malik’s unsuccessful attempt. Soon after, Ankit Rana’s touch point extended the Pirates’ lead to four at the end of the first quarter (13–9).
In the first half, Ayan reached another landmark, becoming just the fifth player in PKL history to cross 300 raid points in a single season with a successful raid on Ajit Pawar. However, the Titans rallied back strongly. Shubham tackled Ayan, and Chetan Sahu’s touch on Deepak cut the gap to a single point before the Titans inflicted an ALL OUT, taking a 22–20 lead at halftime.
Bharat’s successful raid on Ankit widened the margin to three, and he soon completed his Super 10 with a touch on Ashish Birwal. A second ALL OUT on the Pirates pushed the Titans’ lead to 10 points, as Bharat and his teammates began to dominate.
Ayan and Navdeep fought valiantly — the latter completing his fourth High Five of the season — but lacked consistent support from the rest of the Pirates lineup. Though Patna managed an ALL OUT of their own to narrow the deficit to five, the Titans maintained control throughout.
In the closing stages, Ankit’s tackle on Milan Dahiya and Bharat’s late touch points on Ankit Rana and Deepak sealed the result. Bharat capped the night with a Super Raid, putting the contest beyond reach.
The Pirates’ spirited campaign ended just short, while the Titans booked a high-stakes Qualifier 2 clash with Puneri Paltan.
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