Ugly scenes at DPL 2025 Eliminator, brawl almost breaks out; lady umpire and Nitish Rana intervene to diffuse tension

Tempers flared as a brawl-like situation unfolded in the Delhi Premier League's 2025 Eliminator between South Delhi Superstarz and West Delhi Lions at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday. Some ugly scenes were on show, and the gentleman's game got a bad name as players from both camps clashed on the field. It all happened after the dismissal of West Delhi Lions' opening batter Krish Yadav's dismissal off the bowling of Aman Bharti in the 11th over as the side were chasing the target of 202. A brawl almost infolded in the Delhi Premier League Eliminator between West Delhi Lions and South Delhi Superstarz. (Screengrab - JioHotstar)

On the first ball of the 11th over, Krish tried to hit the pacer Bharti for a six over long-off. However, he was unable to get the desired connection and was caught by Anmol Sharma near the boundary rope. It was then that a serious exchange unfolded with players from both sides pushing and shoving each other.

The pacer first gave the right-handed batter a stare as he took the crucial wicket for South Delhi Superstarz. However, Krish Yadav did not take kindly to what was said from the opposition camp as he returned near the wicket to hurl some words back.

South Delhi Superstarz's Sumit Mathur then got into the thick of action as he did not hesitate one bit, charging towards Krish and doing some finger-pointing and letting it rip. The situation got so intense and ugly that West Delhi Lions' skipper Nitish Rana had to intervene along with the on-field umpires to separate Sumit and Krish.

The lady umpire asked Krish to leave the fiel,d while Nitish Rana defused the situation by placing his arm around Sumit's shoulder and separating him from the dismissed batter.

West Delhi Lions progress to Qualifier 2

West Delhi Lions progressed to Qualifier 2 after registering an emphatic seven-wicket win. The Nitish Rana-led side chased the target of 202 with 17 balls to spare, owing to the skipper's unbeaten 134-run knock off just 55 balls with the help of 8 fours and 15 sixes.

The left-handed Rana batted at a strike rate of 243.64, reserving his best for the crucial knockout game. Earlier, South Delhi Superstarz posted 201/5 in the allotted twenty overs, owing to a 60-run knock by captain and wicketkeeper-batter Tejasvi Dahiya.

The West Delhi Lions will now take on East Delhi Riders in Qualifier 2 on Saturday 30, August 30, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

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