KL Rahul thumps chest after match-winning six, aggressively points to ground after beating RCB at ‘home’ Bengaluru

Kl satisfied justified Delhi Capitals’ decision to make him their most expensive player in the mega auction last year, as he played a match-winning knock on Thursday. To make things better, it came on his home ground where he played during his formative years, and DC defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Although Axar Patel replaced Rishabh Pant, who joined Rahul’s former team Lucknow Super Giants, the Karnataka cricketer is turning out to be DC’s most important player in IPL 2025.

DC in dire straits during run-chase, KL Rahul arrives

Against RCB, DC were chasing 164 runs and Rahul arrived at No. 4 as opener Jake Fraser-McGurk lost his wicket in the first delivery of the third over. DC were at 30/3, and it looked like RCB had already won the match.

After the early departures of Abishek Porel and Axar, Rahul began to stitch a comeback partnership with Tristan Stubbs. The pair began to accelerate and attack the RCB bowlers after the 11th over as Krunal Pandya leaked 13 in the 12th over. Then they took on Liam Livingstone immediately in the next over as Rahul smacked him for a six and four.

In the 14th over, Rahul got his fifty in a delivery, which also saw him almost get dismissed. But his sliced shot fell short of deep point as he got his half-century off 37 balls. The India star wasn’t stopping there and made sure to make it his mission in taking DC past the finishing line.

Rajat Patidar decided to send Josh Hazlewood in the 15th over, hoping the experienced Aussie pacer would break the growing partnership. But Rahul had other plans and began the over with a pulled shot behind square, which went for a four, and then he made it back-to-back with a cut through backward point. Rahul ended the over with a four behind square, and then a six over mid-off as DC got ahead in the DLS score. The beginning of Hazlewood’s over saw some drops of rain falling at the venue and the groundsmen could be seen getting ready.

At the end of 15 overs, DC were six runs ahead as per the DLS, and then Stubbs began to showcase his skills as he smacked Suyash Sharma for a four and six in the 16th over. The 17th over saw Bhuvneshwar Kumar concede 12 runs as Rahul reached 76* off 49 balls and Stubbs at 37* off 22 deliveries.

Single-handedly wins the match for DC

With DC at 146/4 ahead of the 17th over, Rahul single-handedly won the match for DC, with some brilliant shots. After getting strike in the third ball, Rahul hammered Yash Dayal for a six over the square leg boundary, and then reverse-scooped him for a four in the next ball. The pressure got to Dayal as he opted to go for a short delivery in fifth delivery and it flew over Rahul’s head and also past the wicketkeeper, with the umpire calling five wides. RCB reviewed the decision but the review showed that it was over the head, and the scores were level.

With Dayal having to re-bowl his fifth delivery again, he sent a low full toss, down leg, and Rahul whacked it in style, over long leg boundary for a six, and then in celebration he thumped his chest. The cameras were on Rahul, as the DC dugout celebrated in enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Rahul gestured by thumping his chest, and then pointing to the ground, sending a message that he is at home and he also has to prove a point this season.

Rahul, who first gained spotlight in his IPL debut stint with RCB from 2013-16, was expected to rejoin the side after LSG didn’t retain him. But surprisingly, RCB didn’t prioritise him, and he was roped in by DC in a bidding war.

KL Rahul’s message to RCB:

Rahul finished unbeaten at 93* off 53 balls, packed with seven fours and six sixes, at a strike rate of 175.47. Meanwhile, Stubbs was also unbeaten at 38* off 23 balls, consisting of four fours and a six, at a strike rate of 165.22, as DC raced to 169/4 in 17.5 overs.

Speaking after the match, Stubbs was full of praise, when asked about his teammate. He said, “It was really satisfying, came in a bit of a tricky situation but the run-rate never got out of hand. To be honest, I didn’t have to do much, with the way KL Rahul batted. We briefly mentioned it (about DLS par score) but I never really thought about it, we had so much extra time, so you always come back out here, so it’s about time to kick on.”

During the post-match ceremony, Rahul received the Player of the Match award, and soaked in glory. He said, “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.”