West Delhi Lions skipper Nitish Rana clears his stand on the fight with Digvesh Rathi and voices his straightforward attitude to get back at anyone who pokes him during the competitive stages of a game.
The DPL has reached its final stages, as the West Delhi Lions will be taking on the Central Delhi Kings in the Finals of the Delhi Premier League season 2, since the two finalists from season 1, the South Delhi Superstarz and the East Delhi Riders, have both been knocked out by the West Delhi team on their quest for the maiden final spot.
Despite the teams advancing so far, none could forget the ugly incident between Nitish Rana and Digvesh Rathi that took place during the Eliminator match between the two players.
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Nitish Rana and Digvesh Rathi engage in a Huge brawl
A huge brawl that shook the internet took place in the Eliminator match between the West Delhi Lions and the South Delhi Superstarz cricketers in the second innings, when the Lions were chasing a huge target of 202 set by the Superstarz.
The first controversy that caught the internet’s attention was between Superstarz spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi and West Delhi skipper Nitish Rana. Rathi tricked Rana into playing a sweep shot with a false run-up.
This incident had irked Rana; however, the batter too poked the bowler as he retreated from playing the ball when Rathi almost completed his run-up the next time. The scenes were already heated up, and Rana further escalated it as he reverse swept Rathi over the point boundary for a six when he finally bowled his delivery.
This six was followed by a verbal spat as well as physical confrontations, which looked obvious until the lady field umpire intervened between the cricketers.
Nitish Rana clarifies his reasons behind the tiff with Digvesh Rathi
In a recent post-match interview, after West Delhi Lions won the qualifier 2 against the defending champions, he informed PTI reporters that the incident that followed during the Eliminator match was purely an agitated event, and no single man is to be blamed for it.
He clearly specified that he won’t say that Rathi instigated him, but it was evident that Rathi had poked him, and though he never makes the first move, he is one of those characters who would not step back from giving a befitting response to any such provocation.
He said, “It would be unfair to say anything, since I can only put my end in front of you. Since it was not wrong on anyone’s end, as we both were there to win the matches for our teams.”
“If someone pokes at me, I will give it back to them. He was trying to dismiss me by poking me with the false run-up, so I could also poke him and hit him for a six. The incident was just an example of that,” he added.
Nitish Rana and Digvesh Rathi were fined heavily after mid-match arguments
After the incident, another controversial brawl took place between Superstarz bowler Aman Bharti and the Lions batter Krish Yadav. This incident also escalated to a physical altercation, but this time, Rana himself stepped in to settle things down.
The DDCA then went on to fine Digvesh Rathi for 80% of his match fees, which marked his 5th such offence in the year 2025 itself, ever since the IPL. Nitish Rana was also fined 50% of his match fees, while three other players, Sumit Mathur, Krish Yadav, and Aman Bharti, were also fined percentages of their match fees.
