Himmat Singh's unbeaten 65 helped East Delhi Riders beat West Delhi Lions by five wickets, extending their unbeaten run in the Adani Delhi Premier League T20.

New Delhi: Skipper Himmat Singh's unbeaten 65 off 47 balls helped East Delhi Riders to a five-wicket win over West Delhi Lions in the 10th match of the Adani Delhi Premier League T20 on Friday.

Ankit Kumar's powerful 73 off 44 balls helped West Delhi Lions post a challenging score of 182/9 in the allotted 20 overs. Despite a rough start to their innings, East Delhi Riders chased down the target with an over to spare thanks to crucial contributions from Himmat Singh and Mayank Rawat.

East Delhi Riders faced a tough challenge early on in their chase as they lost three wickets for just 40 runs in the fifth over. Rohit Yadav dismissed Sujal Singh (1 off 6 balls) and Hardik Singh (1 off 4 balls), while Hrithik Shokin took out Anuj Rawat (16 off 10 balls) on the first ball. A promising looking Samarth Seth was dismissed for 25 off 18 balls and East Delhi Riders were at a precarious 74/4 at the end of the ninth over.

However, Himmat Singh and Mayank Rawat put on a strategic partnership of 67 runs off 41 balls to keep the innings level. Rawat's quick runs complemented Singh's more measured approach and kept the chase alive.

West Delhi Lions captain Shokin broke the partnership by dismissing Rawat for 44 off 22 balls in the 17th over. After that, the equation required 43 runs off the last 24 balls. With the pressure mounting, Himmat Singh stepped up his innings and took East Delhi Riders to the target with a decisive performance in the final over bowled by Navdeep Saini. Singh's match-winning knock made East Delhi Riders the only unbeaten team in the tournament.

Earlier, West Delhi Lions struggled against the disciplined bowling of East Delhi Riders. They were 29/2 in the first four overs, with Ekansha Dobal (0 off 1 ball) and Vivek Yadav (12 off 8 balls). Ankit Kumar and Krish Yadav put on a crucial 53-ball 82-run stand to stabilize the innings and take the score to 100 in the 12th over before Krish was dismissed for 25 off 26 balls.

A double strike from Vaghela in his next over, dismissing Kumar and then Hrithik Shokin (17 off 10 balls), made the score 129/4 in the 14th over. Tishant Dabla's 6-ball 14 provided a late blow and the innings closed at 182/9 despite the team crossing the 150-run mark in the 17th over. Simarjit Singh shone with the ball for East Delhi Raiders, claiming 3/19 and playing a key role in keeping the Lions at bay.

With this win, East Delhi Riders have extended their lead at the top of the points table with eight points from four matches. Their unbeaten record will be a key factor in their campaign as the tournament progresses.

The matches ahead promise more excitement as the teams continue to fight for the top spots in the league.