Former India batter Mohammad Kaif has lavished praise on KL Rahul after his remarkable 152* powered Delhi Capitals (DC) in a high-scoring IPL 2026 encounter against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Saturday afternoon, calling the innings “vintage” and a showcase of fluent class paired with aggressive intent—even though DC ultimately lost.
Kaif’s take on Rahul’s “vintage” 152
Speaking as a JioStar specialist on Star Sports, Kaif said Rahul looked at his best with the bat, stressing that the knock stood out for its shot variety and confidence against PBKS. He acknowledged that the innings ended in disappointment due to the result, but insisted that the manner of batting will be remembered.
Kaif described the way Rahul attacked the bowling as the defining feature, saying it showed Rahul’s ability to take on bowlers with clean timing and purpose throughout the chase-driven contest. He praised how Rahul kept moving between different areas of the ground, turning singles into momentum and boundaries into control.
- Kaif highlighted Rahul’s aggressive approach as “pure class” and labelled it “vintage KL Rahul”.
- He pointed to the variety in Rahul’s strokeplay, saying Rahul dominated across the ground.
- Kaif specifically mentioned Rahul’s drives through the covers, his pulls over square leg, and his ability to clear the infield straight down the ground.
- He added that Rahul treated every delivery with intent, leaving no bowler spared.
Despite the brilliance, Kaif underlined the emotional contrast between individual achievement and team defeat. He noted that Rahul stayed unbeaten until the close but still finished on the losing side, calling it the “cruel” nature of cricket.
“He remained unbeaten till the end, yet finished on the losing side. That is the cruel side of cricket,” Kaif said, adding that while the innings would be remembered, the defeat would sting more than the runs.
How the match unfolded and what Rahul achieved
- Delhi Capitals set PBKS a target of 265 runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday.
- In reply, Punjab Kings chased it down to register a six-wicket win over DC.
- KL Rahul remained not out on 152, scoring off 67 balls in the losing cause.
- Rahul’s 152* became the highest individual score by an Indian in IPL history.
- He bettered Abhishek Sharma’s previous mark of 141, which had been made last year against Punjab Kings.
- Rahul also joined an elite group of batters to reach 150-plus scores in IPL, becoming the third player overall after RCB’s Chris Gayle (175* off 66 vs Pune Warriors India in 2013) and KKR’s Brendon McCullum (158* off 73 vs RCB in 2008).
- Rahul struck his century in 47 balls, making it DC’s fastest IPL century and surpassing the previous 48-ball hundreds by Virender Sehwag and Quinton de Kock.
- With the big score, Rahul moved above Rishabh Pant’s 128* against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2018 to become DC’s top individual IPL run-getter in a single knock.
- Rahul’s century for DC came after Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) also featured two-centurions each in the season’s tally, but Rahul stood out in IPL history as the only batter to record multiple hundreds for three different franchises.
- On the day’s overall numbers, Rahul finished with 5,579 IPL runs and six centuries, climbing past MS Dhoni on the all-time IPL run charts to move into sixth place.
- Despite DC’s defeat, Rahul’s mammoth 152* still went in the record books as PBKS completed what was described as the biggest successful run chase in IPL history, remaining unbeaten in the competition.
