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KL Rahul scored a fine half-century in his first appearance against his former IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants since being released last year.
Sanjiv Goenka (left) reacts after KL Rahul hits Aiden Markram for a six. (Screengrab/JioCinema)
KL Rahul continued his impressive run in the IPL 2025 as he peeled off a fine half-century against his old franchise Lucknow Super Giants to guide Delhi Capitals to a seven-wicket win at the Ekana Cricket Stadium on Tuesday night. With LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka present at the venue, Rahul struck an unbeaten 57 off 42 in a successful chase of 160.
It was Rahul‘s third half-century of the season, and he took his tally to 323 runs from seven innings while averaging 64.60 and a fine strike-rate of 153.80. He’s DC‘s highest run-getter of the ongoing competition now.
During his unbeaten innings, Rahul struck three fours and as many sixes. One of his sixes came off the bowling of Aiden Markram – a straight hit muscled over the bowler’s head. And the reaction of Goenka was notable – a wry smile, perhaps in admiration.
Rahul was LSG’s captain for three seasons and in two of them, the franchise made it to the playoffs. They had a forgettable last season, finishing seventh on the table and thus not finishing among the top-four for the first time since their debut in 2022.
Towards the end of IPL 2024, after LSG endured a 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Goenka was seen having a lively discussion with Rahul in public leading to speculations that all’s not well between the two.
Those speculations were given a new lease of life despite the denial when LSG released Rahul while retaining the likes of Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Mayank Yadav, Ayush Badoni and Mohsin Khan ahead of the IPL mega auction.
LSG then broke the bank to sign Rishabh Pant for a record-breaking Rs 27 crore at the two-day auction in Jeddah. Goenka later said the franchise wants players who are more concerned towards the team than individual performances.
On the other hand, Rahul was signed by DC for Rs 14 crore.
