On Friday, in the Eliminator of the ongoing second edition of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) , which was played between South Delhi Superstarz and the West Delhi Lions at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, the latter
reined supreme, registering a convincing seven-wicket win. Sealing a spot in the DPL 2025 playoffs after finishing in the top four, the West Delhi Lions beat the Superstarz, courtesy an unbeaten 134 from Nitish Rana.
For the unversed, the Nitish Rana-led West Delhi Lions won the toss and elected to bowl first. As a result, the Tejasvi Dahiya-led side put up 201 at the loss of five wickets in their 20 overs, courtesy a 39-ball 55 from Anmol Sharma and the skipper playing a 60-run knock, along with unbeaten 48 from Sumit Mathur. In reply, the West Delhi Lions looked a formidable side.
Nitish Rana’s blitz 55-ball 134* guides West Delhi Lions in Qualifier 2 of DPL 2025
However, the Lions lost Ankit Kumar and Ayush Doseja early, but opener Krish Yadav played a decent 22-ball 31-run knock. He was joined by Nitish Rana, who was at a different level altogether. Coming out to bat when the scorecard read 21/2, Nitish Rana played an unbeaten 134-run knock. His innings was laced with 23 boundaries - eight fours and 15 maximums, striking at 234.64.
The 31-year-old during his stay at the crease also became the fastest to reach the three-figure mark in DPL 2025, reaching 100 off just 42 deliveries. He then took 13 more deliveries to help the side cross the line as he guided the side to seven-wicket win in 17.1 overs. Nitish Rana was also adjudged the Player of the Match (POTM) for his blistering knock.
While he will be expected to repeat his gameplay in the Qualifier 2, when the West Delhi Lions take on the East Delhi Riders on Saturday, August 30 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Qualifier 2.
