The DPL 2025 Eliminator match marked a huge set of brawls as the South Delhi Superstarz and West Delhi Lions cricketers engaged in successive heated exchanges in an intensified contest while chasing a mammoth total at Delhi’s Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The South Delhi Superstarz, the runners-up from the previous edition of the DPL, qualified for the playoffs in DPL 2025 as well; however, they featured alongside the West Delhi Lions in the Eliminator match, which is the first knockout game of the season, since the loser of Qualifier 1 is not knocked out but rather gets another chance in Qualifier 2.
After the tiff between skipper Nitish Rana and bowler Digvesh Rathi was kept aside by the players as the game progressed, it led to another brawl, this time between the South Delhi bowler Aman Bharti and West Delhi opener Krish Yadav.
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Tempers Flared!! West Delhi batter erupts on bowler after unnecessary send-off
The incident occurred just a few hours after the first confrontation and mind games between Rathi and Rana. It occurred after the dismissal of West Delhi opener Krish Yadav by Aman Bharti’s bowling.
While chasing a huge target of 202, the West Delhi skipper Nitish Rana built on a decent partnership alongside the opener Krish Yadav; however, the batter, who was batting on 31 got out in the first ball of the 11th over in an attempt to hit the bowler over the long-off fence.
This was followed by a serious exchange of words between the batter and the bowler, which escalated with the intervention of Sumit Mathur, who got agitated and did not hesitate to charge towards the batter with a pointing finger. The situation got so intense that the lady umpire on the field had to be aided by West Delhi skipper Nitish Rana, who defused the situation by placing his arm around Mathur’s shoulder.
DPL eliminator match#DPLT20 pic.twitter.com/0ag54kzNrP
— Aaditya jha (@aadi___45) August 29, 2025
South Delhi Superstarz posted a decent target with skipper Tejasvi Dahiya leading from the front
In the first batting innings, the former runners-up of the competition were aiming for new hopes in DPL 2025, as the South Delhi Superstarz looked to post an impressive first innings total.
After an explosive start from the two openers, Anmol Sharma and Ankur Kaushik, with a 67-run opening stand, they suffered a mini-collapse that saw them stumble to 78/3. After this, the skipper took guard of their batting innings.
Tejasvi Dahiya’s stunning 60 off just 33 balls alongside big hitter Sumit Mathur, who also scored a quickfire 48, helped Superstarz take their lead to a mammoth total with their 108-run partnership between the two batters. They posted a huge 201/5 in their 20-overs, while Hrithik Shokeen remained the pick of the bowlers with 2/28 in his 4 overs.
Centurion Skipper sees West Delhi Lions through Qualifier 2 in DPL 2025
The West Delhi Lions progressed to DPL 2025 Qualifier 2 after registering an exceptional and unthinkable win by their standards over the South Delhi Superstarz, and the skipper is to be credited for achieving this unbelievable feat.
The Nitish Rana-led side chased down the target of 202 with 17 balls remaining, that is, in 17.1 overs, due to the stunning knock from skipper Nitish Rana, who single-handedly scored 134* off just 55 balls with 8 fours and 15 sixes, his maiden hundred in DPL 2025.
The West Delhi Lions will now take on the defending champions, the East Delhi Riders, who lost Qualifier 1 and will play in the DPL 2025 Qualifier 2 on the 30th of August at the Arun Jaitely Stadium.
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