A masterly unbeaten 93 from KL Rahul and the shrewdness of spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam carried Delhi Capitals to a six-wicket triumph over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their Indian Premier League encounter here on Thursday.
Despite a top-order wobble, Delhi, in pursuit of 164, reached 169 for four, registering their fourth consecutive win of the season.
Rahul, named Player of the Match, constructed his 93 off 53 deliveries, striking seven fours and six sixes. His knock was a study in composure and timing, as he stitched together a match-winning 111-run partnership with Tristan Stubbs, who remained unbeaten on 38.
The foundation of the Capitals' victory was laid earlier by their spinners, Kuldeep (2 for 17) and debutant Nigam (2 for 18), who curbed Bengaluru’s momentum after they had blazed past 50 in the opening three overs.
Electing to field, Delhi's decision initially appeared ill-advised. Royal Challengers, led by a fiery Phil Salt, rocketed to 61 within 24 deliveries. Salt, in particular, took a liking to Mitchell Starc, whom he dispatched for 24 runs in a single over.
Salt’s blistering 37 off 17 balls, however, ended abruptly following a miscommunication with Virat Kohli. The dismissal triggered a slowdown, especially once Nigam was introduced into the attack. His opening over conceded just two runs, followed by a miserly over from Mohit Sharma.
Nigam’s pressure paid off as Devdutt Padikkal attempted to break free but holed out to Axar Patel for one. Kohli, who had started fluently with a six over long-on off Nigam, soon perished while attempting an expansive stroke against the same bowler, caught trying to clear the off-side boundary.
RCB crumbled from 61 without loss to 102 for five, with wickets of Jitesh (4) and Liam Livingstone (3) falling in rapid succession. Tim David’s unbeaten 37 off 20 deliveries helped push the total to a respectable 163, as the hosts added 36 runs in the final two overs.
In reply, Delhi had a horror start. Faf du Plessis, returning from injury, was dismissed early, skying a delivery from Yash Dayal for Rajat Patidar to take a fine catch. The same mode of dismissal repeated soon, with Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abhishek Porel departing cheaply, leaving the visitors reeling at 30 for three within the Powerplay.
Rahul then formed a steadying partnership with captain Axar Patel (15), adding 28 runs before the latter attempted to lift Suyansh Sharma over the infield but found Tim David running in to complete the catch.
Undeterred, Rahul shifted gears, using the extra pace of Josh Hazlewood to manufacture boundaries, including a straight six past the bowler. Against the leg-spin of Suyansh, he remained measured, choosing his moment to attack with a sweep over mid-wicket.
Stubbs complemented his senior partner with a pair of graceful straight drives off Bhuvneshwar Kumar as Delhi eased towards victory.
Rahul fittingly finished proceedings with a towering six off Dayal, marking the end with a ‘sword-on-the-ground’ celebration as Delhi secured a clinical win despite early hiccups.
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