Delhi Capitals’ veteran batter KL Rahul aced the home conditions while playing at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru in a six-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru on Thursday. In the run-chase of 164, DC was in mire at 30-3 but Rahul stepped up and made the most of the known conditions.
The flamboyant batter also had the rub of the green on his side as RCB captain Rajat Patidar dropped a tough chance. However, Rahul made the most of his second life and scored a match-winning knock of 93 runs off just 53 balls as he batted at the top of his game.
Rahul smashed seven fours and six maximums in his fine knock and changed gears when it started to drizzle a bit in Bengaluru.
Rahul had also scored a match-winning knock of 77 runs in the last game against Chennai Super Kings.
The wicket-keeper was awarded Player of the Match and said keeping for 20 overs helped him in gauging how the wicket was playing.
Rahul said in the post-match presentation, “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.”
He added, “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.”
Delhi Capitals will next take on Mumbai Indians at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Sunday.
