It’s safe to say that KL Rahul is going through one of the best phases of his cricketing career. He played a key role for India in the ICC Champions Trophy, which India won by defeating New Zealand in the final. In a match against his former team, LSG, he reached a major milestone by becoming the fastest player to score 5000 runs in the IPL.
He carried his form into the 18th season of the IPL as well. Now playing for a new team, the Delhi Capitals, he wasn’t given a fixed batting position. However, wherever he batted, he made it count. Rahul’s first impactful innings came against his former team, RCB. After an early collapse, he took charge and guided his team to victory with a brilliant 93 off just 53 balls.
He became a hero for his team once again against LSG—the team that didn’t retain him in the mega auction. Rishabh Pant’s side won the toss and chose to bat first. Thanks to solid contributions from Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, and Ayush Badoni, they set a target of 160 runs. Although DC got off to a strong start, Karun Nair was dismissed early.
Rahul and Abishek Porel took the game forward and nearly finished it with their fifties. Unfortunately, Porel was dismissed by Markram after scoring 51 runs off 36 balls. Rahul ensured he stayed till the end, remaining unbeaten and sealing another win for DC. It was his third fifty of the season.
Axar Patel’s comment on KL Rahul’s broken bat in the practice session created a lighthearted moment
Delhi Capitals are one of the top teams this IPL season, and much of the credit goes to their captain, Axar Patel. He has kept the team environment light and cheerful with his witty jokes about his teammates. A similar moment occurred when Rahul broke his bat in half during a practice session.
DC’s official social media account shared a clip where Rahul broke his bat while playing a shot. ‘Bapu’ quickly grabbed the other half and jokingly introduced it to teammate Tristan Stubbs as a Mongoose bat. The joke caught on quickly, leading to laughter all around the net session.
Patel has been praised not just for his captaincy but also for keeping the atmosphere relaxed and fun. DC has won 6 out of 8 games and is currently 2nd on the points table. Their next match is against RCB, a team they already beat on their home ground. It will be interesting to see if they can complete a double over the three-time finalists.