Watch: Lakshay Thareja's shot hits umpire on the face

In a game where Mayank Yadav bowled with incredible pace, the umpire, Dharmesh Bhardwaj, was smashed in the face while he was standing during the Delhi Premier League (DPL) 2026 clash between New Delhi Tigers and East Delhi Riders on August 17 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The batter, was in shock when the video went viral on social media.

The New Delhi Tigers have gone through a tough time in the DPL 2026, earning only one victory in eight matches so far, while it has been nearly the same for the East Delhi Riders, who have claimed just one victory in their seven encounters, with one game ending in a wash-out.

Umpire caught off guard as fierce straight drive rockets into him mid-over

The incident took place in the 18th over of the New Delhi Tigers’ run chase when Lakshay Thareja stepped out and tried to go for a powerful straight drive against the left-arm spinner, Ashish Meena, as the ball went past the bowler, who failed to stop it.

Watch the umpire getiting smashed here-

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However, the ball went straight and struck umpire Bharadwaj on the right side of his face. The umpire tried to duck but couldn’t fully move out of the ball’s path in time. He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where he was assessed by the doctors for the injury.

This was, in fact, not the first time the umpire was hit while officiating in the DPL 2026. He previously suffered a blow to his shoulder after the straight drive during one of the games in the league stage of the competition.

The blow that stopped play — How the DPL 2026 match unfolded after the scare

The East Delhi Riders posted 192 runs for the loss of seven wickets in their allotted 20 overs as Vansh Mehra smashed a dashing knock of 35 runs off 21 balls with the help of six boundaries and one six, while Mayank Rawat nailed 40 runs off 23 balls at a strike rate of 173.91, shouldering one boundary and one six. Suryansh Raina drilled 33 runs off 21 balls.

Rishabh Sharma ended up with three wickets, having given away 34 runs in four overs, while Laxman bowled well for his figures of 2/31 in four overs at an economy rate of 7.80.

The New Delhi Tigers, in reply during the chase, were bundled out for 156 runs, losing the encounter by 36 runs. Most of their batters got starts but failed to convert them into big scores. Mayank Yadav fired up with 3/15 in four overs, including one maiden.

Brief Scores: East Delhi Riders 192/7 (Mayank Rawat 40, Rishabh Sharma 3/34) beat New Delhi Tigers 156 (Himmat Singh 31, Mayank Yadav 3/15) by 36 runs.