KL Rahul has long carried the reputation of a batter who can pile up runs without ever fully owning the spotlight. Even when he does something eye-catching, the match outcome often slips away. That pattern held again as Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their IPL 2026 encounter on Saturday: Rahul struck 57 off 34 balls at a strike rate of 167.64, yet DC still crossed the line thanks to Tristan Stubbs, who stayed unbeaten on 60 off 47 deliveries, striking at 127.65 in the chase.<\/p>\n
The most talked-about slice of Rahul\u2019s innings was his approach against Josh Hazlewood. Hazlewood is not a bowler batters typically \u201cgo after\u201d from ball one\u2014especially not when they\u2019ve seen what he can do at the international level and also in the IPL. Across 42 IPL games, Hazlewood carries an economy rate of 8.29, underscoring his ability to keep pressure on even when runs are coming.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Rahul treated the first over against him like an invitation. On Hazlewood\u2019s opening delivery, pitched on a length around off stump, Rahul went inside-out over cover to clear the ropes for six. Hazlewood responded with a tidy burst, but he was forced to deal with Rahul again on the fifth ball of the same spell\u2014another first-ball hit, this time with the ball angling into Rahul and skidding over square leg for another maximum.<\/p>\n
To complete the message, Rahul added boundaries in the over as well: a cut that flew past point and a ramp that found the gap between short third and point.<\/p>\n
Aaron Finch highlighted why Rahul\u2019s temperament and technique make him such a difficult customer for a bowler like Hazlewood. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo\u2019s TimeOut show, Finch said Rahul came at Hazlewood early\u2014pummelling him over cover for six\u2014and that the matchup suited Hazlewood\u2019s style in a very particular way. Finch also noted that Rahul is among the players whose skill set aligns well with Hazlewood\u2019s typical line and length, adding that Rahul has strong Test batting fundamentals. In Finch\u2019s view, Rahul\u2019s innings was crucial because he kept finding boundaries exactly when DC needed them.<\/p>\n
Ambati Rayudu echoed the tactical angle as well. He pointed out that Hazlewood is \u201cslightly easier to play\u201d when batters create a touch of room and look to work the ball on the off side, and said Rahul does that beautifully. Rayudu also credited Rahul for setting up the innings with a very good knock.<\/p>\n
Rahul\u2019s scoring accelerated quickly and he reached his half-century at a brisk pace, but he couldn\u2019t finish the chase\u2014he fell just after the midpoint of DC\u2019s pursuit. With Rahul departing before the job was done, Stubbs took over the responsibility.<\/p>\n
Stubbs remained unbeaten on 60 from 47 balls, keeping the momentum moving and ensuring the chase didn\u2019t drift. His strike rate of 127.65 may not capture the same intensity as Rahul\u2019s, but it reflected the control DC needed once the innings crossed its halfway phase.<\/p>\n
Rahul has accumulated a large IPL run tally over the years. He sits at No. 7 on the all-time leading scorers\u2019 list, with 5390 runs across 141 innings. His career strike rate stands at 136.83\u2014solid, though not always explosive in the way some of his contemporaries are.<\/p>\n
This season, however, the pattern looks a little different. Rahul is joint-second on DC\u2019s list of run-getters with 168 runs from five innings, level with Sameer Rizvi and only one run behind Stubbs (who has 169). The key change is his strike rate this time around: Rahul is at 168.00, which stands well above every other DC batter except Ashutosh Sharma.<\/p>\n
Ashutosh\u2019s current season output is comparatively small\u201419 runs in ten balls in his only innings\u2014making Rahul\u2019s strike rate leap even more noticeable within the DC batting group.<\/p>\n
If Rahul can keep delivering both volume and rapid scoring, the Saturday innings suggests it could be the beginning of a new phase\u2014one where his runs finally come with the kind of match control that makes a batter impossible to overlook.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KL Rahul has long carried the reputation of a batter who can pile up runs without ever fully owning the spotlight. Even when he does…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"KL Rahul 57 vs RCB: DC win IPL 2026 despite 34 balls","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"KL Rahul blazed 57 off 34 vs RCB with a 167.64 strike rate, but Delhi Capitals still won IPL 2026 as Tristan Stubbs powered the chase.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n