Nitish Rana, Uttar Pradesh cricketer, and Ayush Badoni, Delhi captain, got into a heated argument during their clash in the quarter-final of the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy (SMAT 2024).

This encounter was played at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on December 11, 2024. UP captain Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the toss and chose to bowl first.

Delhi got a good start with Priyansh Arya (44) and Yash Dhull (42) adding 81 runs in 10 overs for the opening wicket. Then captain Ayush Badoni contributed 25 in 18 balls, while Anuj Rawat went nuts and scored 73* in 33 balls with 7 fours and 5 sixes. This propelled Delhi to 193/3 in 20 overs.

During the Delhi innings, Ayush Badoni and now UP, former Delhi cricketer Nitish Rana got into a heated argument. On the third delivery of the 13th over, Delhi skipper Ayush Badoni scored a fast single off Nitish Rana.

After completing the run, the UP all-rounder ran towards him and said a few words. Badoni also retaliated as the two engaged in a heated confrontation. With things heating up between the two players, the umpires had to step in and separate them as they came face to face.

Here is the video:

In response, UP lost wickets at regular intervals during their chase. While Priyam Garg (54), Sameer Rizvi (26), and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (20) tried their best, UP could only manage 174 runs. For Delhi, Prince Yadav took 3 wickets, while Suyash Sharma and Ayush Badoni picked two wickets each.

Interestingly, it was Badoni who dismissed Nitish Rana for just 2 runs in 3 balls. Rana was caught by Harsh Tyagi off Badoni and then the Delhi captain decided to give Rana a send-off as well. 

Meanwhile, Delhi will face Madhya Pradesh in the semi-final on December 13 in Bengaluru.