New Delhi, May 18 (UNI) A sublime century by KL Rahul headlined a powerful batting performance from Delhi Capitals, who posted a commanding 199 for 3 in their 20 overs against Gujarat Titans in Match 60 of IPL 2025 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Sunday.
Put into bat after GT won the toss, Delhi lost Faf du Plessis early for just 5, miscuing an on-drive to mid-on off Arshad Khan in the fourth over. But from there, it was the KL Rahul show. The DC opener, calm yet brutal, crafted a masterful 112* off just 65 balls, laced with 14 fours and 4 sixes, anchoring the innings with trademark grace and innovation.
Rahul’s knock was decorated with an array of strokes – from classic drives and pulls to audacious sweeps off pacers. One such moment came in the 17th over, when he nonchalantly swept a pace-off delivery from Prasidh Krishna – almost spinner-like – behind square for a four. Earlier, he brought up his fifty with a lofted sweep over square leg off Rashid Khan, and even took on the likes of Kagiso Rabada with a couple of straight sixes that punctuated his dominance.
Abishek Porel, promoted up the order, provided brisk support with a 19-ball 30, including a couple of towering sixes – one off Rabada and another off Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore. However, the left-arm spinner had the last laugh, having Porel caught behind with a sharp, skiddy delivery outside off.
Axar Patel added momentum with a quickfire 25 off 16 balls, hammering a six straight down the ground and following it up with a punchy boundary over the bowler’s head. But his promising stay ended when he attempted to steer Krishna and was caught at third man by Sai Kishore.
Tristan Stubbs then provided the perfect finishing act. In the 20th over, he rocked back to a short delivery from Sai Kishore and flat-batted it baseball-style over deep mid-wicket for six — a shot that left even Gujarat camp momentarily stunned. He remained unbeaten on 21 off 10 balls.
Among the bowlers, Sai Kishore (4-0-47-1) was expensive despite a key breakthrough, while Krishna (4-0-40-1) and Arshad Khan (2-0-7-1) also chipped in with wickets. Mohammed Siraj and Rashid Khan went wicketless despite tidy spells in phases, but were taken apart late in the innings.
Delhi's powerplay yielded 45 runs for the loss of one wicket, before the middle overs and death surge propelled them to a total just one short of 200 — a tall ask for Gujarat on this Delhi surface.
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