(ESPNCRICINFO) – IT started so well for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), then for 15-odd overs, it didn’t. Then it suddenly started going to plan again and the RCB loyalists, who had packed the M Chinnaswamy Stadium to the rafters, found their voice. Only to have local lad KL Rahul silence them.
In a game with a fair share of twists and turns, Delhi Capitals (DC) continued their unbeaten run, notching up a fourth straight win of the season, handing RCB a second home defeat by six wickets.

Sent into bat, it was a bizarre RCB innings. They scored 53 runs in the first three overs for zero wickets, 36 in the last two for zero wickets, and in the 15 overs in the middle could only manage 74 runs while losing seven wickets.
Having restricted RCB to 163 for 7, DC would have been the happier side going into the break. But their joy was short-lived as RCB picked up three wickets inside the powerplay and had DC struggling at 67 for 4 after 11 overs.

The required rate which began at a shade over eight an over was almost touching 11 at this stage. But Rahul flicked a switch and alongside Tristan Stubbs began DC’s victory march. The duo scorched 102 runs in the next 6.5 overs, adding 111 for the fifth wicket as DC romped home with 13 balls to spare. Rahul finished with an unbeaten 93 off just 53 balls and celebrated in fitting fashion in front of his home crowd.
Rahul’s homecoming for the ages

He was on 29 off 29 balls, struggling with his timing, looking sluggish on a sticky Chinnaswamy surface. He even had a life on 7 when Patidar dropped a tough catch running back from mid-off. And, Rahul made sure to cash in. By the time 11 overs were done, ESPNcricinfo’s win probability for DC had dipped to 14.31 per cent from 67.45 per cent at the start of their innings. Then, Rahul sent the RCB bowlers into hiding.
It started with a cheeky reverse-sweep by Stubbs off Krunal Pandya, which beat short third. Rahul then dumped him over deep backward square leg and that was the start of the end for RCB. He went 4 and 6 against Liam Livingstone before taking down Josh Hazlewood in a fierce display of ball-striking.

With DC requiring 65 off 36, he first smashed the pacer for back-to-back fours before thumping him for a 4 and 6 in an over which went for 22. That brought down the equation to 43 off 30. Stubbs deposited Suyash Sharma for a four and six and before Rahul finished off the game smashing Dayal for two sixes and a four in the 18th over. He smashed a six over fine leg fence to seal the win and then slammed his bat on to the turf, almost marking his territory. Striking at 100 in his first 29 balls, he thrashed 64 off his next 23, at a strike rate of 278.26.