New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) Players from both Delhi Capitals (DC) and Gujarat Titans (GT) lined paid tribute to the Indian armed forces by standing up for the Indian national anthem ahead of their IPL 2025 clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.

Following a ten-day pause in IPL 2025 due to cross-border tensions between India and Pakistan, the tournament had its first full match on resumption when Punjab Kings beat Rajasthan Royals by ten runs at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Sunday afternoon.

While the game was finishing in Jaipur, both DC and GT playing elevens, along with match officials – on-field umpires Adrian Holdstock and Keyur Kelkar, third umpire Rohan Pandit and match referee Arjan Kripal Singh sang the national anthem together to honour the valuable contributions of the Indian Armed Forces and protecting India from the attacks of enemies across the border before the match began.

In addition to this, ‘Thank you armed forces’ was the message being displayed on the screens as well as boundary lines of the stadium when the Indian national anthem ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was being played. After the national anthem was over, fans in the stadium chanted ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ in chorus.

“Firstly, a heartfelt message to our armed forces for keeping us safe, and to help us get back on the field to do something we love,” said Delhi Capitals’ top-order batter Karun Nair in a pre-match chat with broadcasters.

Coming to the match, GT won the toss and elected to bowl first against DC. Second-ranked GT need just one more win to book their spot in the playoffs. DC are at fifth place and must win all of their remaining games, starting from their final home game on Sunday, to keep their faint hopes of entering the last four stage alive.

After PBKS beat RR by ten runs, if GT wins on Sunday night, then they, PBKS and RCB will qualify for the playoffs. It would then leave DC, Mumbai Indians (MI) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in competition for the final playoffs spot.

–IANS

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