KL Rahul (Image credit: BCCI/IPL)
New Delhi: KL Rahul was all smiles after leading Delhi Capitals to a crushing seven-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in a crucial match in IPL 2026 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. The win helped Delhi snap a three-match losing streak in emphatic fashion.After a disappointing outing where they were bowled out for just 75 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi bounced back strongly, completing the highest successful run chase in IPL history.After Rajasthan posted 225/6, Delhi got off to a strong start thanks to a 110-run opening stand between Rahul (75 off 40) and Pathum Nissanka (62 off 33). The chase was then calmly ended by Tristan Stubbs (18*) and Ashutosh Sharma (25*) with five balls.
“(Winning makes it more fun) Yes, of course it does. At the end of the day, we play this sport to win. After playing for so many years, numbers matter. I mean you’re happy because you’re scoring points and hitting those big speeds and breaking records. But if you don’t win after the game, it’s not as fun. (What did you have to do to make sure the locker room stayed in the right place and stayed in the right place for the next game) One?) No, the locker room was always in a decent place.
“We try to keep the dressing room as balanced as possible,” Rahul said.Rahul was awarded the Player of the Match award.“And we realize the results haven’t gone our way, but if you really had to dig deep and see if we were making huge mistakes or if we were making some huge mistakes, it wasn’t. We had some honest conversations in the dressing room. Yes, we couldn’t capitalize on the big moments. Except for the last game, every other game we were in the competition and a game that ended if things had gone our way, we would have been on the winning side.”
So we know we played a good game of cricket, but there were some areas where we really needed to be sharp and clear.
This competition and T20 cricket does not give you a second chance. “So it was important that we take advantage of the opportunities we had, and when we go ahead, we press hard and finish the match, which we did not do.”
“Very happy that we were able to get this win and we look forward to achieving more wins together and this will give us more confidence.
(How much did you enjoy the way you were swinging your bat as we went through your innings?) Yes, I did. I was hoping I could get more balls into the powerplay. But the way Bathum hit, there wasn’t much I could do. I just had to stand on the other side and watch how he smoked the ball.
The way he batted, it put us ahead of the game. This is what we expect from the powerplay. “We tend to attack you early,” he added.
“They are a really good team that wins games on the power play with bat and ball.
With the ball as well, I think we started well with the bat as well. He gave us the start we needed in the 220 match. (Partnering with Bathum) Yes, we do. I mean, there’s not a lot of conversations between us, but yeah, just reminding each other to play proper cricket strokes and be as aggressive as possible in the powerplay and use the powerplay.
So yeah, that’s it. He’s done well this season in the matches he’s played, but he hasn’t been able to get past those 40s and I think getting 50 in the ISL, his first season in the ISL will definitely give him a lot of confidence and hopefully he can build from there and continue to give the team those starts. (Is there any particular aspect of your game that you feel good about this season?) Strikeout Rate. I think it’s been a big talking point for a few years. This is something I’ve really worked on. So I’m happy that I got to work on that and do what’s needed for the team, firstly, and do what modern T20 cricket requires. “Yes, that pleases me,” Rahul said.With this win, Delhi Capitals recorded their fourth win of the season to advance to sixth place in the points table, while Rajasthan Royals remained in fourth place with six wins from 10 matches.
