AI Simulation, WDL vs EDR | Nitish Rana’s match-winning knock helps West Delhi Lions beat East Delhi Riders

ByUmesh Sharma,SportsCafe Editor

08/10/2025

As per Artificial Intelligence, West Delhi Lions will beat East Delhi Riders by 11 runs to improve their numbers in the ongoing Delhi Premier League 2025. Nitish Rana’s 54-run knock will play a vital role in setting a winning tone for the Lions to improve their numbers in the tournament.

Pitch and Weather

The pitch at Arun Jaitley Stadium was a flat surface with a slight tinge of grass. Spinners had some assistance in the middle overs.

The weather was hot and dry in Delhi, with clear skies, having no threats of rain throughout the entire course of the game.

Toss

West Delhi Lions won the toss and decided to bat first.

Lineups

WDL XI: Krish Yadav (WK), Ankit Kumar, Nitish Rana (C), Ayush Doseja, Mayank Gusain, Tishant Dabla, Hrithik Shokeen, Bhangwan Singh, Anirudh Chowdhary, Manan Bhardwaj, Shubham Dubey.

EDR XI: Sujal Singh, Arpit Rana, Hardik Sharma, Anuj Rawat (C & WK), Mayank Rawat, Rohan Rathi, Rounak Waghela, Navdeep Saini, Akhil Chaudhary, Ashish Meena, and Rohit Yadav.

Match Report

West Delhi Lions’ in-form opener Ankit Kumar (5) fell cheaply off Navdeep Saini’s bowling on the third over’s last ball. WDL had scored only 20 runs when Ankit was dismissed, and a 26-run partnership between Krish Yadav and Nitish Rana followed his departure. Akhil Chaudhary ended this partnership by getting Krish Yadav (33 runs off 21 balls). Yadav smashed five fours and a six. Rana carried the charge forward with Ayush Doseja (17), followed by a quick dismissal of Mayank Gusain just three runs later. These two blows took WDL’s score from 78/2 to 81/4 within a span of only eight balls. Then came a crucial 38-run partnership between Rana and Trishant Dabla. Rana’s brilliant knock of 54 runs off 38 balls, with four fours and three sixes, was ended by Rounak Waghela in the 15th over. Dabla also contributed with a knock of 28 (17) to help his side post a respectable total of 164/7. Chaudhary and Saini were the key ‘performers with the ball’ for the East Delhi Riders as they shared four wickets between them, alongside the big wicket of Rana picked by Rounak Waghela.

East Delhi Riders lost both their openers, Sujal Singh and Arpit Rana, at the team score of just 25 runs in 3.4 overs. Singh (10) and Rana (6) failed to make any impact with the bat while opening the innings for their side. Hardik Sharma and Anuj Rawat steadied the innings with a balanced approach, displaying a mix of aggression and patience to stitch a match-defining partnership for the third wicket. Hardik scored 32 (27), with four fours and a six, alongside skipper Rawat’s 48 runs off 34 balls, who managed to hit three fours and as many sixes. However, the departure of Rawat and Hardik was followed by a collapse of the middle and the lower middle order. Saini’s 13 (7) and Waghela’s 9-ball 11 were not enough to take the Riders over the line, and they ended up getting restricted to the score of 153/9 in the entire 20 overs. Eventually, West Delhi Lions strengthened their position in the tournament’s points table with an 11-run win in this game.

Player of the Match

West Delhi Lions’ Nitish Rana was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his outstanding 54-run knock off 38 balls on a surface that seemed to be very difficult for the other batters.