Telugu Titans ended Patna Pirates’ dream run after securing an all-important and impressive 46-39 win in Eliminator 3 of Season 12 of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium in New Delhi on Tuesday night.
Led by the ever-present Bharat Hooda’s 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 of the mat, it was yet another exceptional performance from young Ayan Lohchab, who created his own piece of history after becoming the first PKL raider to score 20+ points in six games in a single season.
He finished the season with 316 raid points to his name, 132 points more than he scored in PKL 11 (184), as he played a crucial role in the Pirates’ eight-match winning run to the Eliminator 3. A high-paced start from both teams saw them exchange points early on.
Ayan was tackled in his very first raid, while Vijay Malik was stopped in the very next move. Soon after, however, the Pirates took early control, led by none other than Ayan Lohchab. He secured a two-point raid with touches on Ankit and Praful Zaware, and then picked up another touch off Shubham Shinde as well.
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 after the All Out, registering 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 reading 13-9. Ayan became just 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 (alongside Pardeep Narwal and Pawan Sehrawat – Season 7) to achieve this milestone, as the three-time champions continued to display their prowess. Soon after, Navdeep’s tackle on Bharat in a Do-or-Die raid took the defender to the top of the tackle points standings.
None of this deterred the Titans, though. Shubham tackled Ayan, and Chetan Sahu picked up a touch off Deepak, reducing the deficit to just one point. Eventually, the All Out was inflicted on the Pirates, giving the Titans the lead with the score reading 22-20 in their favour 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 very next move after a touch point on Ashish Birwal. Ankit Rana was then tackled, after which Bharat got Navdeep and Deepak, inflicting a second All Out on the Pirates.
This took the lead to 10 points as the Titans began to run away with the win. Ayan and Navdeep received no support from their teammates, as the likes of Balaji D. and Ankit Rana failed to pick up crucial points for their side.
Ayan completed his Super 10 with a successful raid on Shubham Shinde as the Pirates 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 of the match, with the onus on the Titans and the score at 35-28.
A second All Out was inflicted on the Titans, as the Pirates reduced the deficit to just five points. Navdeep also completed his fourth High Five of the season, while in the attack, Ayan continued to sting the Titans. He was eventually tackled by Vijay Malik, while Bharat continued to carry his team with a successful raid on Balaji D.
For every point scored by the Pirates, the Titans always had an answer. Titans defender Ankit tackled Milan Dahiya, and then Bharat – who also completed 200 raid points this season – got touches on Ankit Kumar Rana and Deepak.
As the match reached its climax, Bharat picked up a Super Raid, which was the final nail in the coffin for the Pirates. Their dream run to the playoffs ended with a narrow five-point loss as the Titans set up an all-important clash in Qualifier 2 with Puneri Paltan.