KL Rahul said the opening overs at M Chinnaswamy Stadium offered some help to the bowlers, which made it difficult for batters to settle quickly during Delhi Capitals’ chase against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Rahul, who was celebrating his 34th birthday, anchored the innings with a composed fifty after DC slipped to three early losses while replying to RCB’s 175/8. His steady knock and the team’s clear intent in the middle overs helped Delhi keep their chase under control and ultimately come out on top in a match Rahul described as a thoroughly competitive contest.
Key takeaways
- Rahul felt the pitch gave the bowlers a bit of an edge in the first overs, affecting early timing.
- Delhi were jolted by three wickets in the powerplay while chasing RCB’s 175/8.
- He credited the team’s mindset for staying proactive rather than falling into a defensive pattern.
- Rahul said RCB’s openers, Virat Kohli and Phil Salt, struggled to get going early due to the ball’s behaviour.
- He expressed confidence in Tristan Stubbs and David Miller for the final phase of the chase.
Rahul on early assistance and the chase situation
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rahul acknowledged that the conditions initially made batting tougher, especially in the opening stretch of the innings. He pointed out that Kohli and Salt appeared unhappy with how the ball was coming onto the bat, implying that the early movement and bounce made timing more demanding than usual.
Rahul also linked DC’s early collapse to the same theme, noting that losing three wickets within the first six overs did not give his side much space to build momentum. In his view, despite the challenging start, the overall contest turned out to be high-quality cricket.
“The wicket did a little bit early on. I could see Virat and Phil Salt not happy with the way the ball was coming on. Us losing three wickets in the first six overs didn’t make it easy for us. So yeah, it was, I think all in all a really good cricket game,” Rahul said.
Staying positive after setbacks
Rahul then explained how Delhi Capitals approached their innings after the early wickets. Rather than retreating into caution, he said the conversation within the batting group was to keep looking for good scoring options, find boundaries, and maintain pressure on the opposition bowlers.
He emphasised that they wanted to avoid going into a defensive shell, because that approach would naturally cause the run rate to climb and become more difficult to manage as the chase progressed. Rahul also referenced the bowling factors they had to account for, including reverse swing during the period when the ball can start to behave differently, along with the quality of RCB’s death bowling.
In that context, Rahul said the plan was to remain focused on the current over, play with urgency, and keep trying to force runs rather than overextending risk too early. He concluded by noting that while both he and others played well at times, the chase ultimately did require it to go deeper than what any team would prefer.
“The conversation was to continue to play good cricket shots and see how we can find boundaries and how we can still put pressure on the bowlers. We didn’t want to go into our shell and then the run rate keeps climbing up, it gets harder and harder towards the end. We saw that when we bowled as well, when there was a little bit of reverse swing as well and the opposition have some really good death bowlers as well. So we didn’t want to take it too deep. We just wanted to stay in the moment, take it one over at a time and try and put pressure on the bowlers. And yeah, he hit some good shots. I hit some good shots. As it turned out, it did go quite deep,” he added.
Belief in the finishers and confidence for the final overs
Rahul also addressed whether Delhi felt any nerves toward the end of the chase. He said there was no anxiety in the final overs because the team had trust in Tristan Stubbs and David Miller to handle the pressure and execute their role in the finishing phase.
He described how those players prepare regularly for high-stakes situations through both international cricket and franchise competition in South Africa, reinforcing Delhi’s belief that the end of the innings could be managed even if the chase extended to the last two overs.
Rahul further explained how Delhi viewed the final phase as a tactical gamble for RCB as well. He suggested that RCB would likely have to use bowlers such as Romario Shepherd or Suyash Sharma during those overs, which Delhi felt gave their batters a strong opportunity to swing the match with two sixes in the closing stretch.
While Rahul admitted that Delhi would ideally have preferred to finish earlier rather than waiting until the twentieth over, he ultimately welcomed the outcome.
“There was faith in Stubbs and Miller. They do this on a daily basis for South Africa and franchise cricket. So, we also knew that the last two overs was going to be a gamble for RCB as well. And we knew that probably Romario Shepherd will bowl or maybe Suyash Sharma will bowl, which gives our batters a good chance to hit two sixes in the last two overs. So yeah, ideally we wouldn’t have wanted it to go till the 20th over, but we’ll take the win,” he concluded.
