Delhi Capitals (DC) batter Nitish Rana was given not out in a controversial decision during his team’s IPL 2026 match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in New Delhi on Saturday.
The incident happened during the 17th over of Delhi Capitals innings when Marcus Stoinis seemingly took a catch in the deep.
He was originally given out, and had started to make his way back to the dugout. David Miller, the next batter, had started to make his way out to the middle.
Why Nitish Rana was given not out
However, the third umpire decided to take a look at the dismissal, and the wicket was overturned.
According to TV replays, Marcus Stoinis’ right leg made contact with the boundary rope while he completed the catch.
Once he was given not out, Nitish Rana returned to bat. And since the ball crossed the boundary rope, Rana and the Delhi Capitals were eventually given six runs. The 32-year-old, however, missed out on scoring a century as he was dismissed for 91 by Xavier Bartlett in the 19th over.
What do the rules say?
According to Law 19.5 of the IPL playing conditions, “A fielder is grounded beyond the boundary if some part of his person is in contact with any of the following:”
– the boundary or any part of an object used to mark the boundary;
– the ground beyond the boundary;
– any object that is in contact with the ground beyond the boundary;
– another fielder who is grounded beyond the boundary.
In this case, Stoinis’ right leg touched the boundary rope and because of this, Rana was given not out.
Delhi Capitals were asked to bat first. They lost Pathum Nissanka early on in the powerplay, but Rana forged a 22-run partnership with KL Rahul (152*) for the second wicket. That partnership was crucial as it helped Delhi Capitals to 264/2.
However, as they say, no total is safe in T20s. That proved to be the case as Punjab Kings chased down the total with six wickets and seven balls to spare. Prabhsimran Singh slammed 76 runs from just 26 deliveries, whereas skipper Shreyas Iyer led from the front with an unbeaten 71 from 36 balls.
#IPL #Nitish #Rana #PBKS #match #Marcus #Stoinis #catch #Heres