On his return home, local boy KL Rahul played an unbeaten knock of 93, scoring his second successive half-century, as he guided Delhi Capitals to a six-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Match 24 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
On a wicket where batting proved challenging, Delhi Capitals delivered a superb all-round bowling performance to quell a blazing start by Phil Salt and Virat Kohli, restricting Royal Challengers Bengaluru to 163/7.
Chasing 164, Delhi found themselves in trouble, losing their top half to slump to 58/4. However, K.L. Rahul played a superb knock and, along with Tristan Stubbs (38 not out), guided Delhi Capitals to 169/4 in 17.5 overs, securing a six-wicket victory.
With this win, Delhi Capitals extended their unbeaten run to four matches in a row, moving up to eight points, and were only separated from Gujarat Titans at the top of the standings by Net Run Rate (NRR). GT has played one game extra.
Rahul remained unbeaten on 93 off 53 balls, with seven fours and six sixes, while Stubbs scored 38 not out off 23 balls. The pair shared a 111-run partnership for the fifth wicket—the highest for DC at this stage—to seal victory with 13 balls remaining.
DC’s decision to pair Faf du Plessis (2), who returned to the playing XI after missing a match, and Jake Fraser-McGurk (7) failed, as both fell to Yash Dayal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, respectively. This left the visitors at 10/2 in the third over.
Bhuvneshwar dismissed Abishek Porel (7), who edged behind to Jitesh Sharma, making it 30/3 in the fifth over. When skipper Axar Patel was dismissed for an 11-ball 15, Delhi Capitals found themselves struggling at 58/4 in the ninth over.
It was a far cry from the 53/0 Royal Challengers Bengaluru had raced to in the first three overs. However, Delhi found a savior in Rahul, who played cautiously at first before attacking in the middle overs. He reached his fifty off 37 balls.
Rahul’s knock was a brilliant effort. While the first four DC batters got out playing across the line, Rahul curbed his aggression early on and capitalized on a tough chance dropped by RCB skipper Rajat Patidar, keeping Delhi Capitals on track for victory.
With light drizzle keeping the ground staff on their toes, Rahul took control of the match, hammering 22 runs off a Josh Hazlewood over, hitting him for 4, 4, 2, 2, 4, 6 in six balls, putting Delhi Capitals on course to victory. Rahul sealed the win for Delhi with a six off Yash Dayal.
Earlier, a brilliant all-round bowling performance from Delhi Capitals helped reel in RCB after a whirlwind start, restricting them to a modest 163/7 in 20 overs.
RCB raced off the blocks with Salt and Kohli blasting to the fastest team fifty in IPL history. However, the innings faltered after Salt was run out, and Delhi Capitals’ pacer Mukesh Kumar, along with wrist spinners Vipraj Nigam (2-18) and Kuldeep Yadav (2-17), bowled superbly to apply the brakes.
The game turned into a cat-and-mouse battle, as every time RCB tried to break the shackles, DC found a way to thwart them. The home side raced to 53/0 in the first three overs but could only manage 74/7 in the next 15.
Tim David provided some late fireworks, hammering 36 runs off the last two overs, bringing RCB’s total to a more respectable 163.
It was a tale of two halves during the powerplay—RCB raced to 53 in the first three overs, and then DC pulled things back with an 11/2 haul in the next three.
After a modest first over (7 runs) by Mitchell Starc, Phil Salt and Virat Kohli went after the bowling, reaching the fastest team fifty in IPL history within the third over. Axar Patel’s second over cost 16 runs, with two fours and a six, shared by the batters.
English opener Salt attacked Australian pacer Starc in the third over, blasting him for 30 runs, hitting 6, 4, 4, 5nb, 6, followed by five leg byes in two balls, as RCB reached 53/0 in three overs.
Kohli hit Axar for a six in the fourth over, but the left-arm spinner silenced RCB’s vociferous supporters when Salt was run out trying for a difficult single. Kohli had taken off for a quick run and then stopped, causing Salt to slip as he attempted to make ground. Salt was dismissed for 37 off 17 balls.
That wicket changed the complexion of the match. Devdutt Padikkal (1) was dismissed in a wicket-maiden over by Mukesh Kumar.
Kohli fell in the next over when he attempted to break the shackles. After hitting Vipraj Nigam for a six, Kohli tried for another big hit but found Starc, who caught him attempting an inside-out shot. RCB slumped to 74/3.
Although skipper Rajat Patidar kept the scoreboard ticking, Liam Livingstone (3) and Jitesh Sharma (3) fell quickly, leaving RCB at 102/5 in the 13th over.
Patidar and Krunal Pandya tried to repair the innings, but Patidar skied one behind to keeper Rahul while attempting a shot over square, dismissed for 25 off 23 balls. Pandya made a run-a-ball 18.
Singapore-born Australian dasher Tim David hammered 36 runs off the last two overs, bowled by Axar Patel (17) and Mukesh Kumar (19), hitting four sixes and two fours to help RCB reach a total of 163.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru 163/7 in 20 overs (Phil Salt 37, Tim David 37 not out; Vipraj Nigam 2-18, Kuldeep Yadav 2-17) lost to Delhi Capitals 169/4 in 17.5 overs (KL Rahul 93 not out, Tristan Stubbs 38 not out; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-26) by six wickets.
IANS
