Classy Rahul guides Delhi to fourth successive victory

The right-hander slams an unbeaten 93 as DC beat RCB by six wickets to keep their all-win record intact

- Shantanu Srivastava

NEW DELHI: A clinical unbeaten assault from KL Rahul (93* off 53 balls, 7x4, 6x6) and a superlative effort from the bowling group meant Delhi Capitals eased past hosts Royal Challengers Bengaluru by six wickets to remain the only unbeaten team of IPL 2025 thus far, notching their fourth win in as many outings.

Chasing a middling 164 on a pitch that put a considerable premium on conventional shotmaking, DC's pursuit was steered by Rahul's sumptuous strokeplay and near-perfect shot selection.

Having bundled RCB for 163/7 on a track that was on the slower side, DC came out with a clear plan to amass as many runs as possible while the track was still true.

Their ultra-aggressive approach almost backfired as their top three of Faf du Plessis, Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abhishek Porel perished trying to power the ball across the line. Even a technically-sound Rahul almost threw his wicket away to an ungainly hack off Yash Dayal, only for RCB skipper Rajat Patidar to shell a difficult chance.

Rahul, however, soon course corrected and went back to his delectable textbook shots. The Powerplay yielded a modest 39/3 but with asking rate not being a pressing worry, Rahul had enough time to drag his team out of trouble. The classy batter went about the task gamely, first in the company of skipper Axar Patel (15) and then with Tristan Stubbs (38* off 23 balls) with whom he raised 111 unbeaten runs for the fifth wicket. Rahul notched up his half-century off 37 balls and effortlessly switched gears in the 15th over as rain threatened to make matters tricky.