As DC continued their IPL 2025 dream start, KL Rahul returned to haunt his old team in Bengaluru, continuing his amazing run of form against RCB. The hosts were forced to regret not taking advantage of their outstanding start as Delhi managed to chase down the score of 164 in 17.5 overs with six wickets remaining. Rahul, who had amassed 648 runs in 16 games against RCB, continued his impressive run of form with a 93 off 53 balls in a DC shirt.
KL Rahul on his knock
"Was a slightly tricky wicket. What helped me was being behind the stumps for 20 overs, just watching how it played. From wicketkeeping I figured that the ball sat in the wicket a little bit but it was consistent throughout - it wasn't two-paced, it was one paced throughout. I knew what my shots are. Just wanted to get off to a good start, be aggressive initially and assess it from there. If I was trying to hit a big six, I knew what pockets to target. Wicketkeeping gave me a feeler for how the other batters played and where were they dismissed. Got lucky with the dropped catch. This is my ground, this is my home. I know this better than anybody else. Enjoyed playing here," said KL Rahul in the post-match presentation.
DC bowlers rattle RCB
The bowlers for the Delhi Capitals (DC) pulled off an incredible comeback against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), limiting them to 163/7 in their 20 overs. RCB got off to a violent start after being put in to bat first, as Philip Salt came out firing, sending Mitchell Starc and Axar Patel flying to the ground. Unfortunately, Salt was run out in the fourth over, which significantly altered the situation for RCB. After Virat Kohli rejected his call for a run, the opening batsman fell as he was returning to the striker's end. After Salt left, DC was able to exert pressure on RCB hitters, which drastically altered their fortunes.
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When Salt was dismissed, RCB was 61/1 in 3.5 overs and had only managed five runs in the next 15 deliveries. Devdutt Padikkal also left swiftly for 1 (8) after Salt was dismissed, being caught at mid-on by Mukesh Kumar. In addition to being dismissed immediately following the powerplay holing out at deep extra cover while attempting to hit another maximum against Vipraj Nigam, Virat Kohli (22 off 14) further exacerbated the situation for RCB. After captain Axar Patel skillfully rotated his bowlers and put pressure on RCB from both ends, DC had no chance of turning back. Mohit Sharma contributed wickets as well, catching Liam Livingstone at point after hitting his top edge (4 off 6).
Jitesh Sharma (3 off 11) was caught off guard as he got a top edge and was caught by wicketkeeper KL Rahul when Kuldeep returned in the 13th over. He concluded with numbers of 2/17 in four overs and also claimed the significant wicket of skipper Rajat Patidar (25 off 23). Vipraj Nigam, who finished with figures of 2/18 in four overs after dismissing Krunal Pandya in his final over, provided him with strong support. RCB reached 163 thanks to some lower-order flourishing from Tim David (37* off 20), while Mohit Sharma bowled an economical stint of 1/10 in 2 overs.
KL Rahul's 93 steals show
DC did not get the start they wanted as they lost both their openers, Faf du Plessis and Jake Fraser-McGurk, by the score of 10. Later, they were down to three wickets on the score of 30. Bhuvneshwar Kumar dismissed McGurk and Porel, while Yash Dayal removed Du Plessis. DC were trying to recover from this, just when Suyash Sharma got rid of DC captain Axar in the 9th over on the score of 58 and kept RCB's hopes high.
However, just when RCB thought they would be able to snatch a big win from DC's claw, KL Rahul stood in front of them like a wall. He along with Tristan Stubbs, joined a match-winning 111-run partnership. Rahul played an unbeaten knock of 93 runs off 53 balls. Meanwhile, Stubbs complimented him with a 23-ball 38. Rahul smashed 7 boundaries and 6 sixes. He took DC over the line with 13 balls and 6 wickets remaining.