Nitish Rana and Digvesh Rathi got into a heated tiff in a recent match between West Delhi Lions and South Delhi Superstarz in the Eliminator of the Delhi Premier League on Friday. After a few mind games from both players which saw Rana and Rathi both pulling out from their batting and bowling stances in consecutive deliveries, it finally devolved into an almost ugly altercation.
Rana, the west Delhi captain tonked Rathi for a six before doing the bowler’s trademark notebook celebration with the bat which ticked off the South Delhi player and he responded with some choice words. The players were almost at each other’s throats before being separated by the rest of the South Delhi Superstarz players before things got uglier.
“It would be very unfair from my side to share only my end of the story. We were both trying to win the match for our respective teams, but above all, we both have to respect the game of cricket. He was the one who initiated things—though I won’t go into how. But if someone tries to provoke me, I won’t just take it quietly. That’s how I’ve played my cricket throughout. I can also hit sixes and respond in kind. I’ve been involved in many fights, but I’ve never been the one to start them. However, if someone tries to poke me, I will give a proper response,” Nitish said to PTI after the match.
VIDEO | On his heated exchange with Digvesh Rathi during the Delhi Premier League match between South Delhi Superstarz and West Delhi Lions, cricketer Nitish Rana said:
“It would be very unfair from my side to share only my end of the story. We were both trying to win the match… pic.twitter.com/FP5CzOlgvf
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 30, 2025
The aftermath
As a result of their actions, both players were penalized by the league which docked match fees for a breach of the code of conduct. Rathi was fined 80% of his match fee for a Level 2 breach, while Rana was fined 50% for Level 1 breaches.
In the match, Rana had the last laugh when his 134 off just 55 balls helped his team chase down 202 and eliminate Rathi’s team. West Delhi took on East Delhi Riders on Saturday in Qualifier 2 and emerged victorious. They will next take on Central Delhi Kings in the final on Sunday.
