IPL: Delhi Capitals star KL Rahul earns praise for impressive batting

The innings underlined another productive individual season for Rahul, who ended as Delhi Capitals' leading run-scorer with 593 runs. However, his performances could not inspire a meaningful campaign as DC finished sixth in the standings.

Rahul looked intent on finishing the season positively from the outset. He launched his assault in the third over against Cameron Green, striking the all-rounder for both a six and a four. After a relatively subdued remainder of the powerplay, Rahul shifted gears again in the eighth over.

Facing Sunil Narine, Rahul cleared long-on with a six before drilling consecutive boundaries straight down the ground. The fluent strokeplay carried him to a half-century in only 25 deliveries.

Although Rahul maintained the momentum through the middle overs, his entertaining knock was eventually ended by Anukul Roy.

"He was picking him [Narine] well and also some of the shots were exceptional," Ambati Rayudu said on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut.  

"The straight hits that he played against Narine were, I think, some of the best shots that we have seen so far against Narine in the season. I don't think anybody has taken on Narine as KL Rahul.

"It looks like he takes on all the big bowlers in the IPL. He has taken on [Josh] Hazlewood, he has taken on Narine. He is a class player, and Delhi needs to give him a team that wins him an IPL trophy because he deserves it.

"He has been a fantastic batsman for any team that he has played for. So he deserves the trophy and hopefully he gets it soon."

Despite the disappointment of another campaign without silverware or a playoff berth, Rahul's consistency remained one of the few bright spots for Delhi Capitals throughout IPL 2026.

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