Twitter Reactions: KL Rahul thumps chest after handing RCB another home defeat

KL Rahul returned to his home at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium to guide Delhi Capitals (DC) to an emphatic six-wicket win against his former team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), in IPL 2025. While the right-hand batter played a fabulous knock of 93* off 53 balls, it was his celebration after hitting the winning six that grabbed the attention.

Rahul was seen lifting his bat like a sword, thumping his chest, and pointing to the ground, as if to show, “This is my ground.” The video quickly went viral, with many believing in the return of old KL Rahul. The 32-year-old has scored 475 IPL runs at this venue at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 144, making it a special venue for him.

Asked to bat first, RCB looked like they were in for a run-fest. Phil Salt slammed 37 off 17 as the hosts raced to 53 in the first three overs. But once Salt departed, RCB's batting collapsed. The middle overs saw spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Vipraj Nigam putting the home team further on the back foot, eventually restricting them to 163/7 in 20 overs.

DC, however, had a poor start to their chase. Struggling at 58/4 in under nine overs, they were on the way to suffering their first loss of the season. But KL Rahul made sure to hold on to one end. From 29 off 29 balls, Rahul switched his gears. Alongside Tristan Stubbs, the pair added 111 runs in just 55 balls, targeting every RCB bowler. Rahul took Josh Hazlewood for 22 in a single over and then hit Yash Dayal in the 18th with two sixes and a four. Stubbs, with a handy 38* off 23, was the perfect support. DC reached the target with 13 balls to spare and became the only unbeaten team in the ongoing season, with four consecutive wins.

Also Read: IPL 2025: Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Delhi Capitals, Match 24 - Who Said What?

"This is my ground, this is my home. I know this better than anybody else. Enjoyed playing here. What helped me was being behind the stumps for 20 overs, just watching how it played. From wicketkeeping, I figured that the ball sat in the wicket a little bit, but it was consistent throughout - it wasn't two-paced, it was one-paced throughout. I knew what my shots were. Just wanted to get off to a good start, be aggressive initially and assess it from there. If I was trying to hit a big six, I knew what pockets to target. Wicketkeeping gave me a feel for how the other batters played and where they were dismissed. Got lucky with the dropped catch," Rahul said after the match.

Here's how the fans reacted to KL Rahul's fiery celebration against RCB: