The incident happened between East Delhi and New Delhi DPL 2026 match.
The recent Delhi Premier League (DPL 2026) match between East Delhi Riders and New Delhi Tigers saw a scary incident where an umpire was hit flush on his jaw thanks to a batter’s straight drive. This game was played on August 17 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
Batting first, East Delhi Riders posted a strong 192/7 in 20 overs, with Vansh Mehra (35), Arpit Rana (33), Mayank Rawat (40) and Suryansh Raina (33) making valuable contributions. Chasing 193, New Delhi Tigers started positively but soon lost wickets at regular intervals.
They managed only 156 runs, with Himmat Singh top-scoring with 31 and Vaibhav Rawat making 28. For East Delhi, Mayank Yadav picked 3/15, becoming the best bowler of the match. East Delhi won the game by 36 runs.
During the 18th over of New Delhi’s chase, batter Lakshay Thareja hit the on-field umpire with a strong straight shot. The umpire was struck in the face by the ball and had to ask for emergency medical assistance.
A powerful straight drive by Thareja hit left-arm spinner Ashish Meena’s delivery as he moved down the pitch. The ball hit umpire Dharmesh Bharadwaj on the right side of his face. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to avoid the ball's course in time.
As per a Cricblogger report, Bharadwaj was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, where doctors assessed him for the injury.
It is important to note that this was not Bharadwaj's first time being struck while officiating in DPL 2026. Earlier in the league stage, he was hit in the shoulder by another straight drive.
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