South African fast bowler Lungi Ngidi was discharged from hospital on Saturday evening after suffering a head injury during Delhi Capitals’ Indian Premier League match against Punjab Kings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

The 30-year-old hit his head hard on the ground while attempting to take a catch during the third over of Punjab Kings’ chase. Ngidi had been running backwards from mid-off to catch opener Priyansh Arya when he fell and struck the back of his head on the turf.

Play was halted for approximately 15 minutes as medical staff attended to the player, who remained on the ground clutching his head. Physios and doctors applied a neck brace before placing him on a stretcher and transporting him by ambulance to BLK-Max Super Speciality Hospital near Rajendra Nagar.

Delhi Traffic Police provided a green corridor for the ambulance, which took 11 minutes to reach the hospital.

The IPL released a statement just over an hour after the incident, confirming Ngidi was stable and complaining of headache and neck pain. “Ngidi is stable and is due to be discharged shortly from the hospital,” the statement read.

Delhi Capitals chief executive Sunil Gupta and co-owner Kiran Kumar Grandhi visited Ngidi at the hospital.

Following his discharge, Delhi Capitals confirmed the fast bowler had returned to the team hotel. “Lungi Ngidi is doing well and has now returned to the DC team hotel in New Delhi,” a franchise source said. “The franchise medical staff will continue to take good care of him.”

On Sunday, Ngidi posted a message on Instagram thanking fans for their support. “Thank you for the messages, all good,” he wrote.

Legspinner Vipraj Nigam replaced Ngidi as a concussion substitute and bowled a full quota of four overs. Delhi Capitals had posted 264 for six, with KL Rahul scoring an unbeaten 152, but Punjab Kings successfully chased down the target with seven balls to spare in what became the highest successful chase in IPL history.