Lucknow, April 22 (NationPress) KL Rahul made a triumphant return to the venue where he faced scrutiny, scoring a half-century that propelled the Delhi Capitals to a commanding eight-wicket triumph over the Lucknow Super Giants in Match 40 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Rahul, who previously captained LSG in IPL 2024 but was not retained following a public fallout with the franchise owner, scored 57 runs, and alongside skipper Axar Patel (34), secured victory for Delhi Capitals after Abhishek Porel (51) set the stage for the successful chase.

On the bowling side, Aiden Markram was the only bowler to claim wickets, taking two but ultimately in vain as DC reached 161/2 and clinched victory with 13 balls to spare.

The innings for DC started with a bang as Karun Nair (15) and Porel combined to score 16 runs off Shardul Thakur. The visitors appeared to have the upper hand when Nair struck a six off Markram, but the South African all-rounder quickly responded by bowling Nair out on the next delivery. Both Rahul and Porel navigated a difficult period against the spin of Markram, Digvesh Rathi, and Ravi Bishnoi before hitting a six each off the latter.

Porel's half-century was a blend of patience and quick scoring, achieving the milestone in just 33 balls. Rahul followed suit with another six off Markram in the subsequent over, but the spinner struck again, dismissing Porel who was caught by David Miller.

DC faced a similar scenario as LSG with a strong start, but their openers' dismissals shook them. The key difference was the composure exhibited by Axar alongside Rahul.

As Rahul persevered to a half-century in 40 balls, featuring three fours and six sixes, the skipper aggressively attacked the Lucknow bowlers, hitting four sixes and a boundary. Lucknow's hopes dwindled further when Prince Yadav dropped a simple catch off Axar. Rahul, nearing the record for the fastest player to score 5000 runs in IPL, sealed the win with a six, propelling Delhi to second place in the standings behind Gujarat Titans based on net run rate.

In the first innings, having opted to bowl first, Delhi Capitals fought back after Aiden Markram (52) and Mitchell Marsh (45) gave LSG a solid start.

Markram reached his half-century in just 30 deliveries, appearing in fine form until he attempted to clear Chameera’s delivery and was caught by Tristan Stubbs. Nicholas Pooran (9) had a brief stay, getting out to a slower bouncer from Mitchell Starc. Abdul Samad (2) was dismissed caught and bowled by Kumar, placing LSG in deeper trouble when Kumar bowled Marsh shortly after.

With new batsmen David Miller (14) and Ayush Badoni (36) at the crease, DC intensified the pressure, limiting runs and boundaries to just four in overs 14 to 19.

However, Badoni countered Mukesh Kumar in the final over with three consecutive fours before getting bowled on the fourth ball.

Finally, after a long wait, Lucknow fans witnessed Rishabh Pant (0) bat for two balls, only to be disappointed as he was bowled on the last ball of the innings, leaving LSG to their lowest score of the season.

Brief scores:

Lucknow Super Giants 159/6 in 20 overs (Aiden Markram 52, Mitchell Marsh 45; Mukesh Kumar 4-33) lost to Delhi Capitals 161/2 in 17.5 overs (KL Rahul 57*, Abhishek Porel 51, Axar Patel 34*; Aiden Markram 2-30) by eight wickets