How did Lungi Ngidi reach hospital in just 11 minutes during peak hour? Delhi Police explain 'green corridor'

Delhi Capitals pacer Lungi Ngidi suffered a nasty injury while fielding during Saturday's afternoon clash against Punjab Kings in their Indian Premier League match in New Delhi. The South African speedster landed awkwardly while trying to collect a catch to dismiss Priyansh Arya off Axar Patel's bowling in the third delivery of the second over in PBKS' chase.

Ngidi misjudged the trajectory of the ball while attempting to collect it near mid off and hit his head hard on the ground after falling on his back. Things got serious fairly quickly on the ground as an ambulance had to be driven to the ground while medical staff checked on the 30-year-old while surrounded by visibly concerned players and support staff.

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How Ngidi reached a hospital in just 11 minutes

Ngidi, who was seen clutching his head after the fall and complained of headache and neck pain, had to be carried to the ambulance on a stretcher before being driven to the BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital, located on Pusa Road in the Rajinder Nagar area of New Delhi.

Normally it takes 15-20 minutes to cover the distance of 7.5 kilometres in traffic-free conditions. Ngidi's ambulance, however, had arrived at the hospital in just 11 minutes from the stadium, that too during the evening rush hour in the national capital.

Delhi Police later revealed how they setup a green corridor during rush hour to ensure a concussed Ngidi reached the hospital at the earliest time possible.

"During the IPL match between Delhi and Punjab, an unfortunate incident occurred when Lungi Ngidi sustained a serious head injury on the field. Upon contacting the match organisers, it was learnt that the injured player needed urgent medical attention and was required to be shifted to BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital, Rajendra Nagar," DCP Traffic (Central Range) Nishant Gupta was quoted by news agency ANI as saying.

"Acting swiftly, ACP Traffic/Central District, Sanjay Singh immediately coordinated with the Police Control Room and directed the creation of a Green Corridor to ensure the uninterrupted movement of the ambulance. The ambulance successfully reached the hospital in a remarkable 11 minutes, cutting through peak-hour traffic and ensuring timely medical care," Gupta added.

Ngidi discharged on same day

Shortly after the incident, the IPL's official X handle shared that Ngidi was stable at the hospital. A CT scan conducted on the pacer had also reportedly come out normal.

Ngidi was discharged from the hospital and returned to the team hotel on the same evening.

As for the match, leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam was brought in as a concussion substitute for Ngidi.

The Capitals, however, will likely have missed Ngidi and his variations as they failed to defend a humongous score of 264/2 against Shreyas Iyer's high-flying Punjab Kings – who pulled off a record chase at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, winning by 6 wickets with more than an over to spare.