By BD Narayankar
Bengaluru, Apr 10 (UNI) KL Rahul's scintillating unbeaten 93 off 53 balls, peppered with audacious strokeplay and ice-cold finishing, powered Delhi Capitals to a dominant six-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in an Indian Premier League (IPL) clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Thursday.
Chasing 164, DC had to a stuttering start, losing Faf du Plessis (2), Jake Fraser-McGurk (7), and Abishek Porel (7) inside the Powerplay, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal exploiting early movement. At 30 for 3, the visitors were under pressure.
But Rahul – calm, calculative, and then completely ruthless – rebuilt the innings and turned the chase into a one-man show. A flurry of boundaries against Josh Hazlewood in the 15th over signalled the shift in gears as Rahul smashed 4, 4, 2, 4, and then a majestic six over mid-off to bring up DC’s lead over DLS, in a match briefly threatened by rain.
Tristan Stubbs joined the party, striking an elegant 38 not out off just 23 balls, and added 111 runs for the unbroken fifth-wicket stand with Rahul. Stubbs launched Suyash Sharma for a six and four in the 16th, before drilling Bhuvneshwar for consecutive boundaries in the 17th, all but sealing RCB’s fate.
With 12 needed off the final over from Yash Dayal, Rahul reverse-scooped him for four, then launched him for a thunderous six, and finished the match in style with another maximum — a low full toss whipped over long leg, followed by a roar and chest-thump that sent DC fans into delirium. A wide ball in between had already levelled the scores.
Earlier, a late blitz from Tim David (37 not out off 20) had lifted RCB to 163/7 after they had slipped to 125/7. Philip Salt had given the hosts a flying start with 37 off 17, but Kuldeep Yadav (2/17) and Vipraj Nigam (2/18) applied the brakes through the middle overs.
Virat Kohli (22), Rajat Patidar (25), and others faltered against DC’s disciplined attack, until David hammered Axar and Mukesh Kumar for 32 runs in the final two overs, giving RCB something to bowl at.
But in the end, It wasn't enough.
Brief Scores:
RCB: 163/7 in 20 overs (Philip Salt 37, Tim David 37*; Kuldeep Yadav 2/17, Vipraj Nigam 2/18)
DC: 169/4 in 17.5 overs (KL Rahul 93*, Tristan Stubbs 38*; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2/26)
Result: Delhi Capitals won by 6 wickets
Player of the Match: KL Rahul (Delhi Capitals)
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