DPL imposes hefty fines on Nitish Rana and Digvesh Rathi following heated verbal exchange in eliminator clash

The heated verbal exchange between Nitish Rana and Digvesh Rathi became the highlight of the clash between West Delhi Lions and South Delhi Superstarz in the Delhi Premier League (DPL). Notably, the match was an eliminator which meant that the losing side would be knocked out of the competition. DPL took strict measures against the players involved in the verbal spat and imposed hefty fines.

Rathi was fined 80 per cent of his match fees for breaching the code of conduct under Article 2.2 for the “conduct contrary to the spirit of the game.” On the other hand, Rana was fined 50 per cent of his match fees for breaching the code of conduct under Article 2.6 for “using a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during a match.”

It all began when Rathi pulled away at the last moment before bowling a delivery. Rana then gave him a taste of his own medicine and did the same on the very next ball. However, things took an ugly turn after the left-hand batter smacked Rathi for a reverse-sweep which ended up going for a maximum.

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Rathi then exchanged a few words with Rana but the tempers quickly flared and the latter soon charged towards the spinner. Both were seen hurling abuse towards each other and had to be separated by umpires and other players. However, it was Rana who had the last laugh as he carried the West Delhi Lions to victory with an incredible knock of 134 runs from just 55 deliveries. This victory saw the side qualify for the second qualifier where they will be facing-off against East Delhi Riders.

3 more players were punished

However, the two weren't the only players who were fined as another heated exchange took place on the field. It involved West Delhi Lions' Krish Yadav and South Delhi Strikers' Aman Bharti and Sumit Mathur. It all began after Aman had given a stare to Krish after dismissing him. What looked like a normal argument almost turned into a brawl as both Krish and Sumit got involved in a heated exchange and had to be separated by match officials.

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This whole drama also resulted in hefty fines with Aman getting fined by 30 per cent of his match fees, Sumit getting fined 50 per cent of his match fees and Krish getting fined 100 per cent of his match fees.