NEW DELHI: The crowd at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium kept roaring and cheering, even as Royal Challengers Bengaluru faced defeat against Delhi Capitals. The reason? Their hometown hero KL Rahul was putting on a show at his home ground. Rahul lit up the evening with his elegant strokeplay, thrilling the fans with towering hits across the park. When he sealed the win by launching Yash Dayal over the long leg boundary and celebrated with a chest thump, the stadium erupted — a heartfelt ovation for their very own local lad.
KL Rahul produced a batting masterclass on Thursday to lead Delhi Capitals to a convincing six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Chasing a tricky 164 on a two-paced surface, Rahul stood tall amid early chaos, anchoring the innings with a sublime unbeaten 93 off just 53 balls, laced with nine fours and five sixes.
Rahul’s calm amidst the storm came after Delhi’s top order collapsed to 30 for 3 in the fifth over. But the wicketkeeper-batter kept his composure, stitched crucial partnerships with Axar Patel (15) and later Tristan Stubbs (38* off 23), and saw the chase through with 13 balls to spare.
With this win, Delhi Capitals extended their unbeaten run to four matches, firmly holding onto second place on the points table, just behind Gujarat Titans.
Earlier, RCB posted a below-par 163 for 7 after electing to bat, a total that never truly looked threatening once the Delhi spinners got into rhythm.
Phil Salt gave the hosts a blazing start with a 17-ball 37, taking Mitchell Starc for 30 runs in one over, and helping RCB reach 61 by the end of the fourth over. But once Salt was run out in a mix-up with Kohli, the innings spiraled downward.
Vipraj Nigam turned the game on its head with his leg-spin, first dismissing the dangerous Kohli for 22 and then removing Krunal Pandya later in the innings. His spell of 2 for 18 in four overs was instrumental in derailing the RCB charge. Kuldeep Yadav also chipped in with his guile, picking up two crucial wickets — Rajat Patidar (25) and Jitesh Sharma (3) — to ensure the middle order couldn’t capitalise on the platform.
Despite a few powerful late hits from Tim David, who remained unbeaten on 37 off 20 balls, RCB’s total lacked the punch needed to challenge Delhi’s deep batting unit.
However, Delhi didn’t have the smoothest of starts.
Faf du Plessis was out for 2, Fraser-McGurk fell for 7, and Porel followed soon after, leaving the visitors reeling. But KL Rahul played the perfect anchor, absorbing the pressure and gradually shifting gears. His six off Livingstone over midwicket and a glorious straight drive off Hazlewood were just glimpses of his dominance.
After Axar fell trying to force the pace, Stubbs joined Rahul and ensured there were no further hiccups. The duo added 111 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket stand and finished things off in style — KL rahul sealing the match with a six in the 18th over.
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