Follow UsIn Match 17 of the Indian Premier League 2025 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk on April 5 (Saturday), KL Rahul scored 77 off 51 deliveries - his first half-century for Delhi Capitals (DC).
The right-handed batter from Karnataka now has 40 50-plus scores as an opener - the joint third-most in the IPL alongside Virat Kohli. David Warner (69) and Shikhar Dhawan (49) are the only ones with more 50-plus scores as openers in the tournament.
Rahul missed DC’s first game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) due to the birth of his first child. He made his return in the next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) but batted at No.4, slamming 15 off 5 deliveries.
Rahul, however, was asked to open the innings against one of his favourite teams, after Faf du Plessis was ruled out because of an injury, and DC replaced him with Sameer Rizvi.
Delhi lost Jake Fraser-McGurk in the very first over but Abishek Porel (20-ball 33) took the attack to CSK in the powerplay. Rahul played the second fiddle till Porel was at the crease but once the left-hander got out to Ravindra Jadeja, KL took control.
Rahul went after IPL 2025’s leading wicket-taker Noor Ahmad and collected 20 off 9 deliveries against him - the most any batter has scored against the left-arm wrist spinner this season.
Rahul completed his fifty off 33 deliveries - his sixth 50-plus score against CSK. Shikhar Dhawan (9), David Warner (9), Virat Kohli (9) and Rohit Sharma (8) are the four batters with more 50+ scores against the Yellow Army.
Rahul hit six fours and three sixes before getting out to Matheesha Pathirana in the final over. Thanks to his knock, DC got to 183/6 in their 20 overs after opting to bat first.