Rahul after DC down RCB in Bengaluru: 'This is my ground, my home'

A charged-up KL Rahul stated that M Chinnaswamy Stadium was his ground and his home as he guided Delhi Capitals (DC) to an easy six-wicket win over hosts Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in an IPL 2025 match on Thursday (April 10).

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Bengaluru boy Rahul played a match-winning classy knock of 93 not out off 53 with seven fours and six sixes as Delhi chased down 164 to stay unbeaten with four wins in a row.

What Rahul said

After hitting a six to finish the game, Rahul was seen saying 'This is my ground'. Later, after winning the Player of the Match, he reiterated the same.

"This is my ground, this is my home. I know this better than anybody else. Enjoyed playing here," Rahul, a former RCB player, said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Talking about the pitch, he said it was tricky but added that keeping wickets for 20 overs helped him assess the 22-yard strip.

"It was a slightly tricky wicket but what helped me was being behind the stumps for 20 overs, watching how the wicket played. The ball sat in the wicket but it was consistent throughout, it was one-paced. I knew what my shots are, wanted to get off to a good start, and then assess it accordingly. It depends on the conditions and the ground and the dimensions. On a wicket like this, I knew what my pockets were. If I wanted to hit a big six, I knew what pockets to target, and keeping gave me a feeler for where other batters were dismissed and where they hit the sixes. Got lucky with the dropped catch," Rahul said.

"Something I have always done with my preparation is that I always try to adapt to different wickets (even in practice). I experiment in practice, get out a couple of times but it gives me a fair idea of the areas I can target — where I can take singles, where I can hit sixes," he added.

Captains speak

Meanwhile, DC skipper Axar Patel said four wins in four matches had given the team a huge boost in morale.

"Everyone is playing with confidence, it feels nice (to have won four out of four). We talk about match-ups and what is happening off the surface. I felt they like to face pacers, so tried to hold them back.

"Then the ball was spinning and bouncing, so thought of bowling spin in the powerplay," he said.

He lauded Rahul's efforts saying the charismatic 'keeper-batter had played a mature innings.

"It becomes a very easy job for me. I have been in that situation, being used as a floater in pressure situations. It is not easy (changing positions). Having a player like him is a very good thing. I played a bad shot today to get out, but he played a mature innings and finished it off. He has been carrying his Champions Trophy form."

RCB captain Rajat Patidar blamed the batters for the defeat. "We have not batted well. Batters are in a good frame of mind, they have shown nice intent. 60 for one, and then 90 for four, that is not acceptable," said Patidar.

RCB's Phil Salt had pummelled the DC bowlers in powerplay overs, guiding the home side to 61/1 in only the fourth over before they slumped to 91/4 after which they lost momentum to score a below-par 163/7.

"We thought it would be a nice batting track. We were lacking in assessing the conditions and the situation," said Patidar, adding that Tim David (37) did his bit by accelerating the run-scoring.