The 31st match of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2026 between West Delhi Lions and South Delhi Superstarz produced an emotional moment when Nitish Rana struggled to hold back his tears after reaching a quick half-century. The experienced batter looked towards the sky and dedicated his milestone to his late mother, who passed away earlier this month following an illness.
Nitish Rana’s emotional tribute to his late mother after fifty in DPL 2026
Rana reached his half-century from just 27 deliveries, bringing up the milestone with a boundary off the third ball of the ninth over. He immediately looked towards the sky as emotions took over, dedicating the innings to his late mother. The West Delhi Lions batter was also wearing a jersey with ‘N. Satish’ printed on the back as a tribute.
As Rana became emotional following his fifty, players from South Delhi Superstarz and the umpire walked over to console him. Rana eventually departed after scoring 60 from 33 balls, with four fours and six sixes. His wife Saachi Marwah also paid tribute to the emotional moment, commenting on his post: “Mumma is here with you.”
Here’s the video:
Some moments are bigger than the game.
Nitish Rana dedicates his half-century to his mother in an emotional moment.#AdaniDPL2026 #AdaniDPL #NitishRana #DelhiPremierLeague #WDLvsSDS pic.twitter.com/6X4ZQWykYG
— Delhi Premier League T20 (@DelhiPLT20) August 17, 2026
Nitish Rana anchors West Delhi Lions before batting collapse
Rana played a crucial role in giving West Delhi Lions a strong platform after the early dismissal of Ankit Kumar. He joined Krish Yadav and the pair added 83 runs for the second wicket to put WDL in a promising position. After Rana’s dismissal, however, the innings quickly lost momentum. Krish scored 25 from 26 deliveries before falling, while Ayush Doseja contributed 27 off 20 balls but could not prevent the collapse.
South Delhi Superstarz’s bowlers continued to pick up wickets at regular intervals. Anshuman Hooda was the standout performer with figures of 4/27 from 3.5 overs, while Vivek Tiwari claimed 2/16 in three overs. West Delhi Lions were eventually bowled out for 169 in 19.5 overs. Their emotional innings was followed by a difficult chase as South Delhi Superstarz openers Sanat Sangwan and Anmol Sharma put their side firmly in control from the beginning.
