West Delhi Lions captain Nitish Rana lit up the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025 Eliminator at Arun Jaitley Stadium with a breathtaking century off just 42 balls against South Delhi Superstars. His innings, studded with 15 sixes and 8 fours, powered his team to a seven-wicket win and a place in Qualifier-2. However, the match also saw tempers flare as Rana almost came to blows with South Delhi spinner Digvesh Rathi, a video of which is now going viral.

Rana’s carnage seals the game

Chasing 202, West Delhi Lions made the contest one-sided thanks to Rana’s explosive 134* off 55 balls. He dismantled the Superstars’ attack, smashing three consecutive sixes in an over from Digvesh Rathi, who conceded 20 runs in that spell. Chris Yadav (31 off 22) and Mayank Gosain (15*) provided handy support as West Delhi reached the target with 17 balls to spare. For South Delhi, Sumit Kumar Beniwal took two wickets while Aman Bharti claimed one.

South Delhi’s strong batting effort

Earlier, South Delhi Superstars posted 201 for 5 after being put into bat. Opener Anmol Sharma led the charge with 55 off 39, while captain Tejaswi Dahiya (60 off 33) and Sumit Mathur (48* off 26) gave the finishing touches. Despite their efforts, Hrithik Shaukin (2 wickets) and others kept West Delhi in the hunt.

Rana vs Rathi: The flashpoint

The contest took an ugly turn when Rana went after Rathi, smashing three sixes in a row. Frustrated, Rathi held on to the ball unusually long during his run-up, which led to an argument with Rana. The West Delhi skipper even gestured with his bat in anger before umpires and teammates stepped in to calm things down. Rathi endured a miserable outing, leaking 39 runs in just 2 overs and not returning to bowl.

With his fiery knock and aggressive intent, Rana not only carried West Delhi Lions into the next stage but also became the talking point of the tournament — both for his batting heroics and the heated on-field spat.