'The celebration showed how much it meant to him' - Mark Boucher lauds KL Rahul's match-winning show against RCB

KL Rahul played a match-winning knock in the last game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to help Delhi Capitals (DC) maintain their unbeaten run in IPL 2025. Legendary South African wicketkeeper-batter Mark Boucher and former India pacer Varun Aaron shared their insights on his critical innings under pressure and difficult situations.

The Capitals looked in deep trouble while in the chase at one stage, however, Rahul’s 93 off 53 was the made the difference in what was a rare occasion where the pitch at the Chinnaswamy seemed tricky for the batters. However, Rahul kept his composure and dominated the hosts with his brilliant performance. Boucher praised Rahul while mentioning how difficult the chase looked and how Rahul's innings was the difference between the two teams.

“That was a tricky chase—there was nothing easy about that win. At one point, Royal Challengers Bengaluru were right back in the game. It felt like the total might be a few runs short, but then they picked up early wickets. KL Rahul came in under serious pressure with wickets falling around him and a high run rate to chase. He played a masterclass in Chennai the other night, but this innings was even better, especially in these conditions. He’s looking in great form, and the celebration at the end showed how much this knock meant to him,” Boucher told JioHotstar.

Former RCB and DC pacer Varun Aaron also had plenty of praise for the game-changing knock. Aaron reckoned that playing at home might have fired him up, and also mentioned that it was a perfect reply to the Bengaluru franchise for not retaining him in 2017.

“This is his home ground—it means a lot to him. He’s from Bengaluru, born and brought up here. He’s been moved around the batting order a lot, but something clearly fired him up tonight to take this win home. Maybe it's the fact that Royal Challengers Bengaluru didn’t retain him. I know he loved playing for them. Now, playing for Delhi, he’s showing the RCB and Bengaluru fans that this is still his stadium—his arena,” Aaron said.