Delhi Capitals’ unprecedented 4-0 winning streak in IPL 2025 has kept opposition teams wondering how to stop the new-look franchise, with their latest win coming over hosts Royal Challengers Bangalore. And starring was a local hero, who calls the M Chinnaswamy Stadium his home, and who gave the RCB fans reason to wonder, once again, whether another bright start to an IPL season is about to fade away.
KL Rahul finished with 93 not out from 53 deliveries to take DC to a six-wicket win, with 13 balls remaining, while underlining his credentials as a top-class T20 striker when he wants to be one. The same Rahul had, a few seasons ago when leading Punjab Kings, dismissed batting strike-rates in T20 cricket as “very, very overrated”. That same batsman struck at over 175 in his match-winning knock against RCB, and this season, with a new franchise, has a strike-rate touching 170.
Which goes to show that cricketers with seemingly limitless talent sometimes just need to be welcomed, while also telling themselves to relax and have a bit of fun.
This seems to be the case with Rahul, who since leaving Lucknow Super Giants and joining DC, has this season made 185 runs in three innings at a strike-rate of 169.72, inclusive of 10 sixes which is nine shy of what he managed across IPL 2025 with LSG.
His masterclass came after DC slipped to 30/3 and then 54/4, with South African Tristan Stubbs happily playing second fiddle with 39 not out in an IPL record unbroken fifth-wicket partnership worth 111 off 55 deliveries.
Key to Rahul’s batting this season has been striking hard and not allowing bowlers to dominate. Rajat Patidar did not bowl Josh Hazlewood until the end of the Powerplay, by which time Rahul had started to look ominous. Hazlewood’s first two overs went well, but once set, Rahul took the Australian pacer’s third over for 4,4,2,2,4 and 6 in a 22-run over that hastened Capitals’ win.
If there was another turning point in this match, it was the run-out of Phil Salt earlier in the evening. The Englishman had taken 30 runs off Mitchell Starc’s second over and at 61/0 in the fourth over it seemed RCB were on course for a massive total. But then bad call between Salt and Virat Kohli saw the former run out for 37 off 17 balls, and 61/1 became 74/3 after seven.
The Delhi bowlers chipped away, RCB kept losing wickets, and it not for Tim David’s unbeaten 37 from 20, which included four sixes, the hosts would never have made it to 163. But on the day, so good was Rahul that even a few more runs would not have made a difference.
