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Nitish Rana had a heated verbal exchange with Digvesh Rathi during the Eliminator clash of the ongoing Delhi Premier League.
Nitish Rana didn’t reveal what exactly triggered the altercation. (Screengrab/JioHotstar)
The second season of the Delhi Premier League has been quite tense with players being punished for breaching code of conduct regularly. The latest such incident came during the Eliminator clash between South Delhi Superstarz and West Delhi Lions when Digvesh Rathi and Nitish Rana exchanged words with several players and umpires intervening to prevent the fight from escalating.
The incident occurred during the 10th over of West Delhi Lions’ chase of 202 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. Rathi, after being clattered for a four and a six off successive deliveries by Rana, pulled out of his delivery stride at the last moment.
Rana responded in kind by pulling away and the reaction didn’t impress Rathi as he exchanged glances and words with the West Delhi Lions captain. After playing two dot balls, Rana ended the over with a reverse hit for a six to third man before pretending to sign his bat ala Rathi who has gained notoriety for his notebook celebration.
That seemed to be the tipping point as the two charged at each other before a quick intervention from players and match officials prevented the situation from escalating.
Rana scored an unbeaten century in a seven-wicket win.
Later, the 31-year-old India cricketer revealed that his reaction was in response to Rathi’s provocation.
“It’s not about who’s right or wrong, he came to win the match for his team, and I came to win for mine. But respecting the game of cricket is my responsibility, and it’s his as well. He was the one who started it, I won’t say how or what happened, because that would be unfair,” Rana told media.
“But yes, if someone pokes me or gets in my face, I’m not someone who will just sit quietly. Because this is how I’ve always played my cricket. If someone pokes me, and they think they’ll get me out by provoking me, then I can also hit back with sixes. What happened yesterday was an example of that,” he added.
Lions vs Kings In Final
West Delhi Lions crushed East Delhi Riders in the second qualifier by eight wickets to storm into the final where they will face Central Delhi Kings on Sunday evening.
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital…Read More
Feroz Khan has been covering sports for over 12 years now and is currently working with Network18 as Principal Correspondent. He embarked on his journey in 2011 and has since acquired vast experience in digital… Read More
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