NEWS
Follow UsCaptain Himmat Singh smashed an unbeaten 65 off 47 balls to lead East Delhi Riders to a five-wicket victory over West Delhi Lions in the 10th match of the Delhi Premier League T20 match at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Friday (August 23).
Ankit Kumar's 73 off 44 balls guided the Lions to 182/9 in 20 overs. In response, Himmat (65*) and Mayank Rawat (44) helped the Riders chase the target in 19 overs. With this victory, the Riders have extended their lead at the top of the points table with eight points in four matches.
Riders had a challenging start to their run chase as they lost three wickets by the fifth over with only 40 runs on the board. Rohit Yadav removed Sujal Singh (1 off 6) and Hardik Singh (1 off 4), while Hrithik Shokeen scalped Anuj Rawat (16 off 10) on his very first ball. Samarth Seth, who looked in good nick, was unfortunately run out after scoring 25 off 18. By the end of the ninth over, East Delhi struggled at 74/4.
Himmat and Mayank took matters into their own hands and kept Riders in the game with a strategic approach. While Rawat scored rapidly, Singh adopted a more cautious style to build a solid 67-run partnership.
West Delhi Lions skipper Shokeen then provided his team with a much-needed breakthrough in the 17th over by dismissing Rawat (44 off 22), leaving East Delhi needing 43 runs off 24 balls.
The equation eventually came down to 27 runs needed off the final 12 balls. Skipper Himmat, who had been watchful early on, shifted gears and chased down the target in the penultimate over off Navdeep Saini. Himmat's fiery 65 off 47 balls ensured that his team remained the only unbeaten side in the tournament.
Earlier, West Delhi struggled to find momentum. Within the first four overs, the Lions were 29/2 as they lost Ekansh Dobal (0 off 1) and Vivek Yadav (12 off 8) cheaply.
Opener Ankit Kumar and Krish Yadav then steadied the innings with a crucial partnership of 82 off 53 balls to take the team's total to 100-run mark in the 12th over. However, in the same over, Krish was dismissed by Rounak Waghela after scoring 25 off 26 balls.
Waghela struck again in his next over as he removed Kumar, who had played a brilliant knock of 73 off 44 balls, bringing the team's total to 129/4 by the 14th over.
Simarjeet Singh, who has been in good form, was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up two wickets in the penultimate over to finish with impressive figures of 3/19. Tishant Dabla played a little cameo of 14 off 6 to guide West Delhi Lions to 182/9 in 20 overs.
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