KL Rahul 2.0 is scary good. For the last couple of years in the Indian Premier League (IPL), people were questioning his intent. But Delhi Capitals (DC) decision to move Rahul down to number four and the wicketkeeper batter changing his approach have seen him return to the most dangerous version of himself.
Rahul just helped DC claim their fourth consecutive victory of the IPL 2025 season. Now, they are the only unbeaten team left in the competition. The Axar Patel-led side has humbled the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at their home ground, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.
DC spinners spin the game in their favour
DC’s spinner Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam completed the shut-up shop. Nigam got Phil Salt’s wicket via a run out, and then RCB never recovered. In 8 overs, the two wrist spinners claimed 8 wickets for just 35 runs. Even though Tim David exploded in the end, RCB fell short of a competitive total by quite some margin.
KL Rahul 2.0 on fire at home
Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal did their best to keep RCB in the game with three wickets in the powerplay. DC were 30/3 after 4.3 overs after the away team looked set to lose. Well, in-form KL Rahul had other ideas. A couple of days ago, he’d said that his T20 approach had changed.
“Cricket’s changed, and T20 cricket especially is only about hitting boundaries. The team that hits more boundaries or sixes ends up winning the game. So, back to enjoying my cricket,” Rahul had told DC mentor Kevin Pietersen.
Well, against RCB, Rahul knew he had to change that ultra-aggressive approach again. Chasing 164 wasn’t going to be easy. Especially if DC had lost Rahul early. He was given an early reprieve, 5 (5), via a dropped catch. And he made RCB pay for it.
He knew DC couldn’t afford to lose a wicket. So he played cautiously. At one point, Rahul was 17 (17). But since the required run rate wasn’t high, he could take his time. After playing 30 balls, he changed his approach. In his last 22 balls, Rahul scored 57 runs.
A major factor why Rahul changed his approach was the rain. After the 14th over, we saw the weather changing, and DC was behind the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) par score. So Rahul let loose. Assisted by Tristan Stubbs, he took down Josh Hazlewood and Dayal to end the match as DC won by 6 wickets in just 17.5 overs.
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