For those well-versed in Hindi, you might’ve heard the saying, ‘Dilli abhi dur hai’. Well, KL Rahul was in Delhi, and the only thing far away was the ball, because Rahul struck it so damn far. If someone has watched the 34-year-old bat, you’d know he doesn’t bludgeon it. He’s a sweet timer of the ball.
Delhi awestruck by KL Rahul magic
That’s what he did against the Punjab Kings (PBKS). He killed them with kindness; he wanted to hurt Punjab, but not the ball. The Delhi Capitals (DC) struck 13 sixes, 9 of which came right off the middle of Rahul’s bat. It was unlike the usual Rahul, who’s been labelled as an ‘anchor’. Today, he showed the world how he anchors, scoring 152 off 67.
Basically, he faced 11.1 overs and scored 152 runs. Rahul went at 13.69 overs. The remaining Delhi batters, including extras, scored at 13.18. Not only did he score nearly 60% of the team’s runs, but he was also going faster as well.
In some ways, Delhi had already taken the upper hand even before Rahul’s show at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. It was searing hot. The temperature was 41 degrees Celsius, and Delhi put Punjab in the field. You can assume every time Rahul deposited the bowler to the boundary line, the walk back to the run-up felt hotter than it did a minute ago. But Rahul was unrelenting. He was in no mood for mercy.
Batters with most runs in IPL
| Batter | Innings | Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
| Virat Kohli | 266 | 8989 | 113* | 39.95 | 133.76 | 8 | 66 |
| Rohit Sharma | 271 | 7183 | 109* | 29.92 | 132.60 | 2 | 48 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 221 | 6769 | 106* | 35.25 | 127.14 | 2 | 51 |
| David Warner | 184 | 6565 | 126 | 40.52 | 139.77 | 4 | 62 |
| KL Rahul | 143 | 5536 | 132* | 46.52 | 137.98 | 6 | 42 |
Mind you, he was dropped on 12. Shashank Singh was the victim, and he made sure Punjab paid for the mistake. Over the next half and an hour, he just kept toying with the bowlers and fields. His fifty didn’t come until the 10th over, 26 balls. But he doubled up in no time. He took just 21 more balls to reach his hundred in the 15th over.
But he was far from satisfied. He’d already become the fifth-highest scorer in the IPL. Now, has the most hundreds for a wicketkeeper. It was his fastest hundred and the highest individual score for Delhi. But Rahul wanted more. So, he scaled the 150 mountains, becoming the first Indian to get there. It took 19 balls for him to go from 100 to 150. With each passing fifty runs, he got faster and faster.
Nitish Rana, who played a fine knock himself, was looking gassed. But Rahul was ready to bat another 20 overs if given the opportunity. Although Rahul got to his 150 in the last over, Arshdeep Singh managed to keep him quiet for the most part. A solitary four was all he got. But it was enough. The damage was done. It was up to the Delhi bowlers now.
Highest individual score in IPL
| Batter | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Strike Rate | Match | Ground | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Gayle | 175* | 66 | 13 | 17 | 265.15 | RCB vs PWI | Bengaluru | 23 Apr 2013 |
| Brendon McCullum | 158* | 73 | 10 | 13 | 216.43 | KKR vs RCB | Bengaluru | 18 Apr 2008 |
| KL Rahul | 152 | 67 | 16 | 9 | 228.79 | DC vs PBKS | Delhi | 25 Apr 2025 |
| Abhishek Sharma | 141 | 55 | 14 | 10 | 256.36 | SRH vs PBKS | Hyderabad | 12 Apr 2025 |
| Quinton de Kock | 140* | 70 | 10 | 10 | 200.00 | LSG vs KKR | DY Patil | 18 May 2022 |
