Rajasthan Royals batter shines with 42-ball hundred in DPL, carries West Delhi Lions to emphatic victory in eliminator

Ignored India batter Nitish Rana played a heroic knock of 134 runs from just 55 deliveries in the eliminator of Delhi Premier League 2025. This knock took the West Delhi Lions to a stunning 7-wicket victory to qualify for the second playoff while the South Delhi Superstarz got knocked out from the tournament. Rana, who is the captain of the franchise, hit eight boundaries and 15 towering sixes in his explosive knock and carried his side to the target of 202 with 17 deliveries left to spare.

Earlier on, the South Delhi Superstarz had managed to post a formidable total of 201/5 in 20 overs thanks to valiant knocks of 55 and 60 from Anmol Sharma and Tejasvi Dahiya respectively. Sumit Mathur also played an impactful and unbeaten cameo of 48 as the side finished off their innings on a positive note.

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In reply, the West Delhi Lions didn't have a great start and lost opener Ankit Kumar on the final delivery of the first over itself. They would lose the wicket of Ayush Doseja in the third over, restricting them to 21/2 at one stage. The side looked to be in big trouble, however Rana changed the game completely when he came out to bat at No.4. 

Rana single-handedly carried the side to victory

The left-hand batter formed a highly important 97-run partnership with Krish Yadav to take the side's score over the 100-run mark. Rana was clearly the aggressor among the two as he absolutely obliterated the opposing bowlers through his incredible power-hitting. Krish's dismissal for 31 runs in the 11th over didn't stop Rana as the latter then formed an 84-run stand with Mayank Gusain and took the side to victory in the 18th over.

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Rana hadn't had an impressive campaign before this knock and had only managed to score 135 runs in eight league stage matches. But his knock in the eliminator changed everything as he stepped up for the side when they needed it the most and single-handedly took them to victory. The 31-year-old was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his sensational batting performance. The West Delhi Lions will now be facing-off against East Delhi Riders in the second qualifier on August 30 at the Arun Jaitley stadium.