"Kohli, Salt Were Not Happy": Rahul Explains Why After DC's Win Over RCB

Yet again, KL Rahul left his home ground on a happy note. For the Karnataka lad, coming back to the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium meant a return to a place that saw him grow from a talented youngster into an Indian cricket team regular. It was a good day for Rahul and his IPL team, Delhi Capitals, as they beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). KL Rahul said that the plan was always to continue playing good cricketing shots and that there were no nerves towards the end with Tristan Stubbs and David Miller out in the middle during the death overs. Reduced to 18/3 in the powerplay courtesy of a sensational bowling display from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, half-centuries from Rahul and Stubbs put DC back on track. However, RCB made a strong comeback in the death overs, taking the equation to 15 runs in the final over. Miller finished in style, smashing two sixes and a four to take DC to their third win of the season with a ball to spare.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rahul - who stepped in as stand-in captain as Axar Patel was sidelined due to cramps - said the wicket was doing a bit early on.

"I could see Virat and Phil Salt weren't happy with the way the ball was coming on. Us losing three wickets in the first six overs didn't make it easy for us. So yeah, all in all, it was a really good cricket game. After losing three quick wickets, the conversation was to continue playing good cricket shots and see how we could find boundaries while still putting pressure on the bowlers. We didn't want to go into our shell because if the run rate keeps climbing, it gets harder and harder towards the end."

Rahul added that there was a hint of reverse swing and that RCB had quality death bowlers, which is why DC didn't want to take the game too deep.

"We just wanted to stay in the moment, take it one over at a time and try to put pressure on the bowlers. (Nervous towards the end?) No, there was full faith in Stubbs and Miller. They do this on a daily basis for South Africa and in franchise cricket. We also knew that the last two overs were going to be a gamble for RCB as well. We knew that Romario Shepherd or maybe Suyash Sharma would bowl, which gave our batters a good chance to hit a couple of sixes. Ideally, we wouldn't have wanted it to go to the 20th over, but we'll take the win," he added.

With this victory, DC climbed to fourth place with three wins and two losses, giving them six points. RCB are in second place with four wins and two losses, taking their tally to eight points.

Asked to bat first, RCB managed just 175/8 in 20 overs, with Phil Salt (63 off 38 balls, including four fours and three sixes) being the lone major contributor as wickets fell at regular intervals. Lungi Ngidi, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel took two wickets apiece.

During the chase, DC slipped to 18/3 thanks to a fine spell from Bhuvneshwar, but half-centuries from Rahul and Stubbs (60* off 47 balls), along with Miller's finishing effort (22* off 10 balls, including a four and two sixes), guided DC to a memorable win.

With ANI inputs

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