If there’s a big Delhi game, there’s always a chance for some drama, and on Saturday night at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the Delhi Premier League (DPL) knockout delivered exactly that. The Eliminator clash between West Delhi Lions and South Delhi Superstarz had everything: runs, wickets, nerves, and yes, a couple of ugly fights that took centre stage. It involved Nitish Rana and Digvesh Rathi.
At the center of it all was Nitish Rana, West Delhi’s captain and the man who’s never far away from a headline. Rana, who has had his share of run-ins on the field in the past, found himself in the thick of a fiery altercation with Digvesh Rathi, the young spinner who featured for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the IPL earlier this year.
Nitish Rana vs Digvesh Rathi: Battle turned heated
Rathi came on to bowl in the 8th over and was welcomed in brutal fashion. Rana went berserk, smashing the right-arm spinner for three consecutive sixes, racing to a half-century off just 20 balls. It was a masterclass by Rana who used reverse sweeps, slog sweeps, and conventional power hitting, all on display.
But as often with Rana, the emotions were never too far behind. Rathi, clearly feeling the heat, had a few words for the Lions skipper after one delivery. In the next over, Rathi went on to bowl and just stepped back. Rana, not the type to back down, gave it back instantly. Even he stepped back for the next delivery before dispatching a beautiful reverse hit for a six. Then came words of exchange. Rana delivered one of Rathi’s iconic notebook celebrations after the six as well.
Ugly scenes follows Rana’s episode
As if the Rana-Rathi flash wasn’t enough, the very next over brought fresh controversies. Krish Yadav, who had been supporting Rana with a handy 31, holed out to Anmol Sharma off Aman Bharti’s bowling. Bharti celebrated right in front of the batter, and that was enough to trigger another war of words.
Soon, South Delhi’s Sumit Mathur and Tejaswi Dahiya got involved, with players pushing, shoving, and pointing fingers in the middle. For a brief moment, the Eliminator looked less like a cricket match and more like a street brawl. The umpires rushed in, other players tried to separate the hotheads, and play eventually resumed, but the damage was done.
Before all the heated exchanges, South Delhi Superstarz had posted a strong 201/5 in their 20 overs. Chasing 202, West Delhi Lions looked well in the hunt at 118 when Yadav fell. However, Nitish Rana was in a beast mode on Friday night, hammering eight boundaries and 15 sixes in his match-winning unbeaten innings of 134 off just 55 deliveries. Probably his best T20 knock ever!
