The second season of the Delhi Premier League has witnessed tempers flaring throughout, but the Eliminator match between West Delhi Lions and South Delhi Superstarz appears to have crossed several boundaries. On Friday night, as the Lions took on the Superstarz at the Arun Jaitley Stadium for a place in Qualifier 2, the high-octane game saw West Delhi skipper Nitish Rana and South Delhi spinner Digvesh Rathi engage in an ugly altercation during the second innings.
The incident occurred during Rathi’s over, when the leg-spinner halted his bowling stride as Rana shaped up for a sweep. Rathi, who had made a habit of this during the Indian Premier League 2025 while playing for Lucknow Super Giants, was seen smiling as he walked back to his mark. Rana, however, was not pleased. On the next delivery, the left-handed batter backed away just as Rathi was about to bowl. It was then that the West Delhi Lions’ captain retorted, saying, “Chal dalta reh chal. (Keep bowling).”
In the following ball, Rana attempted a reverse sweep and connected perfectly for a six. The left-hander then mocked Rathi by doing the bowler’s trademark notebook celebration with his bat. An infuriated Rathi responded with unsavoury words, prompting Rana to charge toward him to make his feelings clear. Realising the seriousness of the situation, the rest of the South Delhi Superstarz players quickly intervened to separate the two.
It’s all happening here! 🔥🏏
Nitish Rana | Digvesh Singh Rathi | West Delhi Lions | South Delhi Superstarz | #DPL #DPL2025 #AdaniDPL2025 #Delhi pic.twitter.com/OfDZQGhOlr
— Delhi Premier League T20 (@DelhiPLT20) August 29, 2025
This was not the only incident in the game, as Sumit Mathur and Krish Yadav also exchanged words, unable to control their emotions in the heat of the moment.
As things turned ugly, it was Rana who channelled his aggression into his performance, playing an absolutely bonkers innings. He scored an unbeaten 134 off just 55 balls, including 15 sixes, to help his team chase down a target of 202 with seven wickets in hand and 17 balls to spare, qualifying for Qualifier 2.
Leg-spinner Rathi, who came into the limelight during the Indian Premier League 2025, though not always for the right reasons, was repeatedly reprimanded and became a talking point for getting under the batters’ skin with his aggressive notebook celebration. He endured a terrible day with the ball, conceding 39 runs in just two overs.
Players penalised
All involved players have been 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 and Sumit Mathur were fined 50% each for Level 1 breaches. Krish Yadav was found guilty of breaching the Level 2 code of conduct and was fined 100% of his match fee. Aman Bharati was fined 30% of his match fee for a Level 1 breach.
Rana’s West Delhi Lions will now take on East Delhi Riders in Qualifier 2 on Saturday.
