Pakistani cricket icon-turned-politician Imran Khan inched closer to power on Thursday after a general election that has been marred by long delays in ballot counting and claims of rigging by opponents.

With nearly half the votes counted from Wednesday's election, Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), or Pakistan Movement for Justice, was in a commanding lead in the nuclear-armed, Muslim nation, the Reuters reported.

Do you know about the 2013 stage mishap when he fell off stage at an election rally

Television footage showed Khan, 60, toppling from the precarious lift with three security guards.

Looking dazed and bloodied, he was carried by aides to a waiting car and driven to hospital in Lahore.

The crowd, which had been pumped by loud music and speeches, fell silent as they watched Pakistan’s former cricket captain carried away.

Here is the video: