Patna Pirates defeated the Jaipur Pink Panthers 33–18 in a resounding victory that solidified their spot in the top eight at Delhi’s Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium on Thursday. Ayan Lohchab led the way with eleven points on the evening, including two tackle points, despite a poor start, helping his team go to the play-ins, which at one time in the tournament seemed unlikely.
In the first few minutes, the Pink Panthers jumped out of the starting blocks and took a four-point lead. Meetu scored a few points to start things off, while Mohit and Sahil Deswal both made tackles. For the Pirates, Ankit Jaglan opened the scoring with a tackle. Despite Sahil Deswal’s second tackle, Milan Dahiya kept his team within striking distance and made contributions on both ends of the mat.
Meetu and Ritik Sharma made sure the Pink Panthers maintained a three-point advantage after Ankit Rana scored a successful Do-Or-Die Raid in a cautious first 10 minutes. With a Super Tackle and another tackle by Navdeep, the Pirates were able to level the playing field.
Mohit gave the inaugural champions the lead, but Deepak leveled the score with another tackle as the slim lead continued to switch hands. After Milan Dahiya’s brilliant Do-Or-Die Raid put the Pirates ahead again, Vinay’s two-point raid and Deepanshu Khatri’s tackle enabled the Pink Panthers take a 13–11 lead at the break.
In the second half, both sides used the Do-Or-Die tactic as the tempo dropped. Before Navdeep’s third tackle put the Patna Pirates back on equal footing, Meetu and Ankit Rana swapped successful Do-or-Die Raids. With ten minutes remaining, Vinay and Ayan successfully conducted Do-Or-Die Raids to maintain the two teams locked at 16-16, while Nitin Rawal recorded his first tackle of the evening.
As the game appeared to be coming to a close finish, Ayan Lohchab finally found his rhythm and scored his first points. The Pirates took a six-point lead after his two-point raid allowed them to execute an ALL OUT. With five minutes remaining in the game, they increased their lead to eight points.
The Pirates were in control of the game for the rest of it after then. Ayan made an impression on both sides of the mat despite his poor start, including a few tackles in the closing moments of the contest to force another ALL OUT. With a 33-18 victory, the outcome was undeniable and guaranteed the Patna Pirates a playoff berth.
