DPL T20: Himmat Singh leads from front as East Delhi Riders extend winning streak

New Delhi Aug 23 (IANS) Captain 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 Adani Delhi Premier League (DPL) T20 at Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Friday.

Ankit Kumar's 73 off 44 balls guided West Delhi Lions to 182/9 in 20 overs. In response, Himmat Singh's fifty and Mayank Rawat's 44 off 22 helped East Delhi Riders chase the target in 19 overs. With this victory, East Delhi Riders have extended their lead at the top of the points table with eight points in four matches. East Delhi 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 the wicket 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 Riders were struggling at 74/4. Himmat Singh and Mayank Rawat took matters into their own hands and kept East Delhi Riders in the game with a strategic approach. While Rawat scored at a rapid pace, Singh adopted a more cautious style to build a solid 67-run off 41 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 Riders needing 43 runs off 24 balls. After a couple of tight overs from West Delhi Lions, the equation 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 in the match, the West Delhi Lions struggled to find momentum against the disciplined bowling attack of the East Delhi Riders. Within the first four overs, West Delhi Lions were at 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. Skipper Hrithik Shokeen (17 off 10) and Deepak Punia (4 off 6) lost wickets in quick succession, while their team crossed the 150-run mark in the 17th 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.

Brief scores:

West Delhi Lions 182/9 in 20 overs (Ankit Kumar 73, Krish Yadav 25; Simarjeet Singh 3-19) lost to East Delhi Riders 183/5 in 19 overs (Himmat Singh 65 not out, Mayank Rawat 44; Hrithik Shokeen 2-24) by five wickets.

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