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With a 25-run victory over Chennai Super Kings here on Saturday, the Delhi Capitals' juggernaut in the present IPL continued unabatedly. They achieved this victory thanks to KL Rahul's excellent hitting and some controlled bowling. Despite CSK's ongoing problems this season, this was DC's first victory in Chepauk in fifteen years. After Rahul combined his usual grace with force in a 51-ball 77, DC, batting first, scored 183 for six. Rahul, who led the innings with style, hit three sixes and six fours.
KL Rahul speaks on his knock
"I am quite used to it. I was prepping to play at the top of the order before the IPL started and before I came here. I had a chat with the coach and he wanted me to bat at No. 4 because one of our senior players didn't turn up and I said okay. Happy that I got an opportunity to bat at the top of the order today. It's more mental, just the pattern and process of getting in and getting used to walking in at a particular stage. Since I have been going up and down the order, I feel like a little unsettled when I walk in. Takes a few minutes to get in. Once I get through it, then it's just game of bat and ball again," said KL Rahul in the post-match presentation
"That's something I have been working on - to go from ball one. I started off really well, a bit scratchy through the middle, but luckily I had a few good partnerships. Porel took on the game, those quick 20-25 runs set up the game. That's how T20 has changed. I had a couple of partnerships with Axar and Porel. Gave myself some time, just had to find a way to go deeper. Once I got past the 11-over mark, I knew I had to go and target a few bowlers. I tried to target the shorter sides as well. The weather and the heat got to me, I got really cooked and left 15-20 runs in the back end. That's something I can learn and be better next time," he added.
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KL Rahul's 51-ball 77 helped the Delhi Capitals to 183 for six against the Chennai Super Kings, combining his signature grace with tremendous drive. After DC decided to bat first, Rahul anchored their innings with six fours and three sixes. Before Matheesha Pathirana (1/31) bowled an outstanding last over to keep DC from capping their innings with a victory, Tristan Stubbs contributed with an undefeated 12-ball 24. An outstanding first over from Khaleel Ahmed (2/25), who put big-hitting opener Jake Fraser-McGurk under strain with four dot balls and had him caught, gave the Capitals a shock at the beginning of their innings.
CSK fail to chase
CSK lost their first three wickets inside the 6 overs of the batting powerplay. Vijay Shankar was their highest run scorer with 69 runs off 54 balls but his knock came with a strike rate of 127.78. MS Dhoni remained unbeaten on 30 off 26 balls but could not ensure the victory of their team.
DC bowlers never allowed CSK batters to score freely and kept on funneling down the runs. After the first six overs, they were on just 69 runs, way behind the target they were chasing. CSK's problem has been constant throughout this season. It even caused them to lose this game by 25 runs.
