His century has helped his team stay alive in the DPL 2025 Eliminator.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) star Nitish Rana stole the show for West Delhi Lions in their run-chase against South Delhi Superstarz during the Eliminator of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Friday.
At the time of writing this report, West Delhi Lions were 162/3 in the 14th over while looking to chase down a target of 202. Rana was unbeaten on 100 runs from just 42 deliveries, hitting eight fours and 10 sixes.
Rana walked out to bat at No.4 at a very crucial time, when West Delhi Lions were in trouble at 21/2 in the third over. Rana mercilessly punished Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) star Digvesh Rathi in the eighth over, slamming one four and three sixes.
That third six of his in the over brought up Rana’s half-century. Rana and Krish Yadav (31 runs from 22 balls) forged a 97-run partnership for the third wicket before the latter was dismissed at the start of the 11th over.
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That meant that West Delhi Lions were 118/3 after 10.1 overs, with Mayank Gusain joining Rana in the middle. Earlier, West Delhi Lions had won the toss and opted to field.
However, that plan did not seem to work out, as half-centuries from Anmol Sharma (55) and skipper Tejasvi Dahiya (60) led South Delhi Superstarz to 201/5 from 20 overs. Sumit Mathur played an unbeaten knock of 48 from 26 deliveries.
Nitish Rana, who was released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) after their successful IPL 2024 season, was acquired by Rajasthan Royals for INR 4.20 crore. He played 11 matches but scored just 217 runs at a strike-rate of 161.94. This included two half-centuries.
In May, however, the 31-year-old sustained a calf injury which ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament. Rana was then replaced by South African youngster Lhuan dre-Pretorius.
Overall, the Uttar Pradesh cricketer has played 118 IPL matches and has scored 2853 runs, with 20 half-centuries to his name.
Rajasthan Royals endured a forgettable IPL 2025 campaign after they finished in ninth place with 10 points.
