Daijiworld Media Network- Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Apr 11: Hometown hero K.L. Rahul dazzled at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday, playing a match-winning unbeaten knock of 93 to lead Delhi Capitals to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their IPL 2025 encounter.
Rahul, who also donned the wicketkeeping gloves for Delhi, credited his time behind the stumps for helping him assess the nature of the pitch and pace his innings smartly.
“It was a slightly tricky wicket, but being behind the stumps for 20 overs gave me great insight into how the ball was behaving. It was consistent and one-paced, so I knew how to build my innings. I’ve always tried to adapt to different wickets, even during practice,” Rahul said during the post-match presentation.
The stylish right-hander smashed six sixes and seven boundaries in his 53-ball stay, anchoring the chase of 164. His 111-run unbeaten stand with Tristan Stubbs (38 not out) ensured Delhi Capitals registered their fourth win on the trot this season.
“I knew what areas to target for boundaries and sixes. Keeping helped me understand where other batters were dismissed and where they succeeded. I did get lucky with a dropped catch, but this is my home ground. I know it better than anyone else,” Rahul added.
Earlier, Royal Challengers got off to a flying start, with Phil Salt and Virat Kohli storming to 50 inside just three overs—the fastest team fifty in IPL history. However, RCB's innings unraveled quickly, slumping from a commanding 80/0 to 90/4, eventually settling at 163/7.
RCB skipper Rajat Patidar admitted the batting unit faltered despite the promising start.
“We didn’t bat well. From 80 for no loss to 90 for four, it was unacceptable on this pitch. We misread the conditions and situation. Batters are in a good frame of mind, but execution was poor,” Patidar remarked.
The only silver lining for RCB was Tim David’s late flourish, who remained unbeaten on 37 and helped push the total past 160.
Praising his bowlers, Patidar said, “The way our pacers bowled in the powerplay was really special. But we need to focus on playing better cricket moving forward, regardless of home or away games.”
This was RCB’s second home loss of the season. With three wins from five matches, they’ll look to bounce back in their upcoming fixture against Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur.