PKL 2025: Bharat powers Telugu Titans past Patna Pirates to set up Qualifier 2 clash with Puneri Paltan
Fueled by Bharat Hooda’s 23 points, Telugu Titans ended Patna Pirates’ dream run after securing an all-important and impressive 46-39 win in Eliminator 3 at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Tuesday night.
Titans will now face season 10 champions Puneri Paltan on Wednesday night for a spot in the final against Dabang Delhi.
Despite the result, Pirates’ Ayan Lohchab was a standout, ending his season with a historic feat: he became the first PKL raider to hit six 20+ point games in a single season. His final total of 316 raid points was a huge jump from his 184 in PKL 11 and was vital in fueling the Pirates’ eight-match win streak to 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. 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.
In the first half, 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.
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Soon after, Shubham tackled Ayan and Chetan Sahu picked up a touch off Deepak, reducing Titans’ 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 its 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 raid after a touch point on Ashish Birwal. Ankit 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 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 failed to pick up crucial points for their side.
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 Titans.
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. Its dream run to the playoffs ended with a narrow five-point loss as Titans sets up an all-important clash in Qualifier 2 with Puneri Paltan.
Published on Oct 28, 2025