KL Rahul’s ‘Main Hoon Na’ Moment In Front Of Chinnaswamy Faithful

"It's better than watching the paint of the wall dry.”

At one point, KL Rahul’s knock at the usually high-scoring Chinnaswamy Stadium represented Kevin Pietersen’s honest remarks. The right-hander was batting on 29 off 29 balls and seemingly started a string of trolling all over the internet. 

But the Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s faithful knew that till Rahul is there, you can’t rule out any possibilities. Because he has been the franchise’s long-standing nemesis in the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Even when Rahul can’t seemingly connect to save his life, from a neutral perspective, there is something in the air that suggests, ‘It is going to be his night’. Perhaps in the way he walked, perhaps in the way he was running between the wickets, perhaps the way his eyes sparkled. 

Let’s be honest, this wasn’t just a game. 

Just six months ago, when it was almost a foregone conclusion that RCB were going to come and swoop in for their homeboy, Rahul, RCB (almost) cheated their entire local fan base. They didn’t pursue Rahul and instead looked at other avenues. Maybe it isn’t that big a thing. 

But think of it: you are the homegrown talent, and there’s a very good chance that RCB’s future could be built around you, and then to get cheated in that fashion? There must be one bit of Rahul’s heart that felt heavy. 

What’s a better way than to perform against the team that bet against you? 

Mind you, chasing 164 on a tricky surface, you can’t take your eyes away from Rahul. He isn’t any man, he’s THAT MAN! The man who is made for such a run chase. He’s that man you can put in any situation and expect him to somehow bail the team out of trouble. 

If he opened the other night, he was tasked with a tougher job against RCB, batting at No.4, on April 10 (Thursday). Three overs into the run chase, your team’s score reading 10/2, the pitch is sluggish, and you just saw your openers crumble under the initial pressure. 

Rahul from the past might have absolutely **at the bed in such a run chase, but Rahul of 2025, a man for all seasons, can’t put a foot wrong. You remember reading his score at the beginning of this article, don’t you? He was 29 off 29 despite hitting two boundaries and a six. 

And, when you see the match-up in front of him vs Krunal Pandya. Across his last 78 deliveries against Krunal, Rahul hadn’t hit a single six. But the situation was such that he had to take the calculated risk, smashing a six towards the square leg region. 

That’s when Rajat Patidar took a big gamble, bowling Liam Livingstone. As it turned out, it was exactly the over that Rahul was looking for, smashing a four and a six to bring the equation under manageable control somewhat. 

Just around the time the run-rate pressure seemed daunting, there was more than just the controllable—there was Bengaluru’s weather, which was slowly starting to show its real face. With DC behind the DLS score by eight runs and sighting the ball becoming worse than before, Rahul had to face Josh Hazlewood, the best all-phase bowler in T20 cricket.

Game on the line, the best all-phase bowler and an equation daunting - brought up the best out of Rahul - who, like a flick of the switch, turned the pressure back on RCB and kept punching - one heavier than the other. 

Every shot was vengeful: one more impressive than the other. If one flashed away through the square leg region, one was cut almost to perfection through the point region. When RCB thought that they had seen it all, there came the dagger, an exquisite shot through the long-off region, handing DC the rightful advantage. 

They were rightfully ahead of the DLS par score.

Like that, the RCB faithful weren’t chanting ‘RCB, RCB, RCB anymore’. That faithful chant had stunningly turned into ‘Rahul, Rahul’ because naam toh pakka suna hoga (you would have heard the name for sure). 

29 off 29, but from thereon, smashing 64 off 24 balls needs more than just a cool, calm, and collected head to single-handedly transform the franchise's fortunes in the clash. 

Fittingly, Rahul had the last laugh. Someone who usually doesn’t emote angrily pointed at himself and then the ground, almost saying, “This is my ****ing home ground; who are you all faking to be?”

“This is my ground, this is my home. I know this better than anybody else. Enjoyed playing here,” Rahul said in the post-match presentation, explaining his celebration as well.

Rahul’s ‘Main Hoon Na’ moment has finally come.