West Delhi Lions and former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) captain Nitish Rana broke his silence on the verbal spat during the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2025 Eliminator match with South Delhi Superstarz leg-spinner Digvesh Rathi. The left-handed batter revealed that Rathi started it and that he had been taught not to back down if he is not wrong.Tensions flared when Rathi came on to bowl and escalated after Rana connected a powerful sweep for a six. Following the maximum, the leg-spinner hurled some words at the West Delhi Lions captain, and Rana retaliated. The female umpire and other players on the field had to separate the two to prevent the situation from worsening.Speaking during a media interaction, Rana said he won't reveal what caused the altercation but vowed not to stay silent if someone provokes him. He stated, as quoted by India Today:"It’s not about who’s right or wrong, he came to win the match for his team, and I came to win for mine. But respecting the game of cricket is my responsibility, and it's his as well. He was the one who started it, I won’t say how or what happened, because that would be unfair. But yes, if someone pokes me or gets in my face, I’m not someone who will just sit quietly. Because this is how I’ve always played my cricket. If someone pokes me, and they think they’ll get me out by provoking me, then I can also hit back with sixes. What happened yesterday was an example of that." View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe former KKR star had the last laugh during the DPL 2025 Eliminator clash as he scored an unbeaten 134 off 55 balls to lead the Lions to victory. Meanwhile, Rathi gave up 39 runs in his two wicketless overs.Nitish Rana plays another whirlwind knock to propel West Delhi Lions into the DPL 2025 finalNitish Rana. (Image Credits: DPL 2025 X)Meanwhile, Rana once again starred for the Lions in the Qualifier 2 match against the East Delhi Riders, scoring 45 off 26 balls to help chase down 140 with eight wickets remaining and more than two overs to spare. Ayush Doseja remained unbeaten on 54, while Krish Yadav hit a 25-ball 37. For the Riders, Arpit Rana top-scored with 50 off 38 balls, but the target clearly wasn't enough. The DPL 2025 final will feature the Lions against the Central Delhi Kings on Sunday, August 31.