Patna Pirates maintained their outstanding performance by decisively defeating Jaipur Pink Panthers 48-32 in Eliminator 1 on Sunday at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium. Ayan Lohchab once again took the lead, marking his fifth game with over 20 points—an achievement only Pardeep Narwal and Devank Dalal have matched in PKL history. Meanwhile, Navdeep provided a High Five. Ali Samadi recorded a Super 10 for the Pink Panthers, but it was in vain.
Ayan opened his team’s account, while Jaipur Pink Panthers surprised everyone by sending Parvinder in for their first raid. Before a tackle from Ankit Jaglan provided the Pirates with an opportunity, Ali Samadi also quickly made his presence known. Ayan added to that with a two-point assault, and his team managed to deliver their first ALL OUT in just five minutes.
The Pink Panthers remained competitive despite a seven-point deficit, thanks to tackles from Vinay and Reza Mirbagheri, as well as a raid by Ali Samadi. Despite this, Ayan and Milan Dahiya continued to add to the score, with Ankit Jaglan making his second tackle, which maintained the Pirates’ 13-6 lead after the opening ten minutes.
With a tackle from Navdeep, they confirmed their superiority with a second ALL OUT in fourteen minutes. The situation became even more dire for the two-time champions as the Pirates raiders intensified the pressure, with Ayan finishing his Super 10 and Milan Dahiya executing a third ALL OUT just before halftime, leaving their team with a substantial 17-point advantage (30-13) at the break.
Jaipur Pink Panthers came flying off the blocks at the beginning of the second half. As Ali Samadi found his rhythm, their defense intensified with Deepanshu Khatri and Aryan Kumar contributing to a score of 30-18. While they made a couple of tackles, Vinay also contributed to reducing the deficit to ten points as the game entered the final quarter.
After Aryan Kumar executed his third tackle of the evening, the point gap shrank to eight. Shortly thereafter, a tackle by Navdeep enabled the Pirates to restore their double-digit advantage. He also finished his High Five, which helped keep his team in control of the situation. Ali Samadi, nonetheless, persisted in his battle for the Pink Panthers, maintaining their presence in the game as the score read 39-28.
Ayan struck the crucial blow on a Do-Or-Die Raid with under four minutes remaining, scoring two points to create a 41-29 lead. He ascended to the top of the charts for the most raid points in PKL 12 (275), marking his fifth twenty-point game of the season and aiding the Pirates in executing a fourth ALL OUT to secure a resounding 47-32 victory.
