Nitish Rana couldn’t have hoped for a better start after his comeback in Delhi cricket. After a two-year move to Uttar Pradesh, the former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain switched back to the place where he has played the majority of his cricket. Now, leading the West Delhi Lions at the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025, Rana’s team kicked off the tournament with a splendid win over defending champions East Delhi Riders.
However, the only blemish for Rana turned out to be the fine he received after the completion of the match. As it turned out, Rana has been fined 10 percent of his match fees by the DDCA (Delhi & District Cricket Association) for maintaining a slow over-rate during the first innings of the match. It was an evening game and West Delhi Lions took more than the allotted time to complete 20 overs. Since it was the first offence of the season, no other penalty has been imposed apart from the 10% match fees deduction.
Rana’s West Delhi pull off highest run-chase in DPL history
The Delhi Premier League (DPL) witnessed history as West Delhi Lions pulled off the highest successful run-chase in the tournament’s history, hunting down 209 to beat East Delhi Riders by seven wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Krish Yadav’s explosive 62 off 29 set the tone before Ayush Doseja anchored the innings with an unbeaten 84 off 48. Skipper Nitish Rana then applied the finishing touches, hammering 39 off just 15 balls to seal victory with 15 balls to spare.
Earlier, Riders captain Anuj Rawat starred with an unbeaten 73 off 38, while Arpit Rana (44) and Mayank Rawat (40) lifted their side to 208/4. But Nitish’s crafty off-spin (3-0-18-1), including the key wicket of Arpit, stemmed the flow at a crucial juncture.
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