Delhi Capitals batter KL Rahul became the sixth Indian cricketer to hit 1000 boundaries in T20 cricket. Star batter Virat Kohli leads the race with 1602 boundaries to his name, while Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan stand second and third on the list, respectively. Suryakumar Yadav and Suresh Raina are fourth and fifth.
KL Rahul registered the milestone in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. The 33-year-old had a rough night in the middle, scoring 10 runs off 14 balls, but with a boundary in the fifth over of the match, Rahul reached the milestone.
SRH hand DC a horrific start in a must win match
In a must-win game for Sunrisers Hyderabad, the hosts handed Delhi a horrific start at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Captain Pat Cummins wreaked havoc, picking up the wicket of Karun Nair in the first ball of the game. In his second over, the pacer got the better of Faf du Plessis, and in his third, he cleared Abhisek Porel. Delhi were reduced to 15/3 and it proved difficult for them to script a comeback.
Notably, Cummins became the first captain in the IPL to register three wickets inside the powerplay. After his brilliant spell, Hyderabad bowlers managed to keep up with the momentum, as Harshal Patel and Jaydev Unadkat picked up one each. Unadkat sent KL Rahul back to the pavilion while Patel dismissed Axar Patel. Later, Vipraj Singh departed following a miscommunication with Tristan Stubbs.
Sunrisers Hyderabad medium-fast Jaydev Unadkat ruled out that bowling round the wicket is a weakness for KL Rahul after robbing the seasoned wicketkeeper batter’s opportunity to pull off a rescue act during their pulsating clash on Monday in the 18th edition of the cash-rich league. The Capitals dangled at 29/4 after the seventh over and needed a saviour to salvage them from the dire situation. With KL Rahul at the crease, there were hopes of witnessing Delhi’s redemption arc written from KL Rahul’s hands, but Unadkat drew early curtains on it.
On the first delivery of the eighth over, the left-arm seamer went round the wicket and bowled a full delivery, which was angling into the off-stump. KL Rahul got caught up in his crease trying to drive on the up and gave away a healthy outside edge. The ball flew quickly, and Ishan Kishan pounced on the opportunity and returned with 10(14).
Delhi will have to finish well to stay in the hunt in the second innings. They have suffered back-to-back defeats to Kolkata Knight Riders and Gujarat Titans, and another loss can put them under severe pressure ahead of the business end of the tournament. Former cricketer Aakash Chopra now has raised concerns regaring KL Rahul’s playing positon in the DC squad.
Aakash Chopra criticizes KL Rahul post poor form of run vs SRH in IPL 2025
Former India player Aakash Chopra has highlighted the Delhi Capitals’ (DC) batting issues after their IPL 2025 clash against the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH). He noted that KL Rahul, the franchise’s most consistent batter in their first few games, has also not been among the runs lately.
KL Rahul contributed 10 runs off 14 deliveries as DC managed only 133/7 against SRH in Match 55 of IPL 2025 in Hyderabad on Monday, May 5. However, rain and a wet outfield didn’t allow the hosts to start their chase, with both teams resultantly getting a point apiece.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra’, the former India opener pointed out that DC’s batting is letting them down, with KL Rahul also going through a lean phase in their last few games.
“Your batting is not firing. You lost faith in Jake Fraser-McGurk. Faf du Plessis has hardly played one or two knocks. Karun Nair has played one knock. Abishek Porel has played two-and-a-half knocks. KL Rahul has played a few knocks. However, he has gone off the boil,” he said
Chopra wondered why the visitors hadn’t taken a replacement for Harry Brook despite their batting struggles.
“After that, Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Tristan Stubbs and Axar Patel. You weren’t supposed to play a punt on them. Where is your replacement for Brook? They haven’t taken one, and won’t get it as well if they don’t take it in the next two days. That story has ended for them,” he observed.
Aakash Chopra opined that the Delhi Capitals might have difficulties going beyond 13 points, highlighting that their last three league games are against the Punjab Kings, the Gujarat Titans and the Mumbai Indians. He added that Axar Patel and company are unlikely to qualify for the IPL 2025 playoffs as they have lost steam completely.
As for the SRH’s exit from IPL 2025, Aakash Chopra opined that last season’s runners-up underperformed this year.
“Hyderabad’s story is also over. Not only the match but their hopes were also rained off. Hyderabad won’t make too many changes in the future. The team was good. However, no matter how good the team is, if you don’t play well, you have a problem,” he said in the same video.
Reflecting on Monday’s game, the cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned that rain potentially denied Pat Cummins and company an easy win.
“Pat Cummins bowled extremely well here. In fact, it wasn’t only Pat Cummins, as everyone bowled well. Ashutosh Sharma and Tristan Stubbs took the team to a fighting total, but that was about it. Hyderabad might have won this match easily had they got to bat,” Chopra observed.
Pat Cummins (3/19) was SRH’s most successful bowler in their IPL 2025 clash against DC. While Jaydev Unadkat (1/13), Harshal Patel (1/36) and Eshan Malinga (1/28) picked up a wicket apiece, Tristan Stubbs (41* off 36) and Ashutosh Sharma (41 off 26) were the only DC batters to score more than 20 runs. SRH now have been officially off the IPL 2025 due to rain vs DC which gives DC another lifeline with 13 points.