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After a tough season, out-of-favour Indian batter Nitish Rana made a spectacular return to form on Friday, August 29. The 31 years old left-handed batter who has represented India in a single ODI and two T20Is back in July 2021, scored a match-winning 134 runs from just 55 balls. This powerful knock was for his team West Delhi Lions in a must-win Eliminator match of the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025 against South Delhi Superstarz at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

Chasing a target of 202 runs, Nitish Rana came to the crease at number four and single-handedly took control of the game. During his incredible innings, he smashed 8 fours and 15 sixes, even taking on South Delhi Superstarz’s star spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi, hitting him for two fours and five sixes.

Nitish Rana built key partnerships to lead his team to victory. He first put on a 97-run stand for the third wicket with opener and wicketkeeper-batter Krish Yadav who scored 31 runs from 22 balls. He then partnered with Mayank Gusain for an unbeaten 84-run stand for the fourth wicket, with Mayank Gusain contributing 15 not out from 16 balls. For his outstanding performance, Nitish Rana was named the Player of the Match.

This impressive century was a huge turnaround for Nitish Rana who had been struggling for form in the DPL 2025 league stage, scoring only 135 runs in eight matches. He proved his class when it mattered the most, winning the crucial do-or-die game for his team.

In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Nitish Rana plays for Rajasthan Royals. In the IPL 2025 season, he scored 217 runs in 11 matches, including two half-centuries. He had a standout performance on March 30, 2025, scoring 81 runs from just 36 balls for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati. He then hit 51 runs from 28 balls against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on April 16. Unfortunately, he was later ruled out of the final phase of the tournament due to an injury.

Throughout his career, Nitish Rana has also played for other IPL teams. He was part of Mumbai Indians in 2016 and 2017, where he scored 437 runs in 17 matches under Rohit Sharma’s leadership. In the 2018 mega auction, he joined Kolkata Knight Riders, playing seven seasons for the team owned by Shah Rukh Khan. In 2023, he even captained the team when Shreyas Iyer was out because of an injury, though he was unable to lead them to a title win.

Nitish Rana came back in form at the correct time when his team needed him the most, well played.

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