Former India batter Aakash Chopra sparked a conversation with a sharp observation on his YouTube channel after Delhi Capitals’ (DC) emphatic six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Match 24 of the Indian Premier League 2025 (IPL 2025) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing 164 runs, DC was reeling at 58 runs for 4 wickets before KL Rahul’s unbeaten 93 runs off 53 balls, studded with seven fours and six sixes, powered them to the target with 13 balls to spare.
Rahul’s knock was a timely riposte to his doubters questioning his intent in T20 cricket. Facing scrutiny over his T20 strike rate, he silenced his critics, accelerating after a cautious start to dominate RCB’s bowlers.Â
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After sealing the win, Rahul marked his territory by drawing a circle on the ground, planting his bat in the center, and declaring his dominance at his home venue. Chopra, on his YouTube channel, broke down the moment and took a swipe at RCB’s auction choices.
"KL Rahul's batting. He was the Player of the Match. He made a ground, a circle, and then planted his bat in the middle, and said this is his area and he reigns there. He would have been hurt. Rahul even used to put his fingers in his ears to keep the outside noise out. However, he would have been seeing and hearing everything, enduring and swallowing it," Chopra said as quoted on his YouTube channel.
For the unversed, there were rumors before the IPL 2025 auction that RCB would be breaking the bank for Rahul. However, they only went after him till INR 10.75 crore in reality, as Delhi Capitals signed him for INR 14 crore.Â
RCB was ready to spend 23.50 crore on Venkatesh Iyer, who ultimately was snapped by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 23.75 crore.
"When they won the match, he said - 'I started here, I was with you, but you let me go. It's fine if you let me go then, but this time when I came in the auction, you had money as well. You went till â‚ą23 crore for Venky Iyer and didn't come to me till â‚ą12 crore. You don't value my skill set. So I will take it upon myself to change the game for you,'" Chopra highlighted.
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The victory propelled DC to their fourth consecutive win, leveling them with Gujarat Titans (GT) at the top of the IPL 2025 points table. Axar Patel and Co. will next face Mumbai Indians (MI) on April 13 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
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