Three talking points from RCB vs DC IPL 2025 clash

India's two prominent players, KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav, have been leading the charge for Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League 2025. The duo, once again, proved their mettle against an in-form RCB at their home ground. An exceptional bowling display from Kuldeep (2 for 17) coupled with a stunning knock from KL Rahul (93 off 53) helped Delhi Capitals beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 18 runs at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on Thursday. 

Delhi Capitals made life uneasy for RCB's batting unit after Phil Salt's run-out in the 4th over, courtesy of a disciplined bowling display, inspired by the spinners- Kuldeep Yadav and Vipram Nigam. The duo combined to pick four wickets between them and restricted RCB to 163 in the first innings. 

RCB bowlers started well in the powerplay and had DC tottering at 58 for 4 but a match-winning 111-run partnership between KL Rahul and Tristan Stubbs meant DC chased down the target comfortably in 17.5 overs. Delhi Capitals continued their dream run in the tournament as they have registered four wins on the trot. On the other hand, RCB were handed their second defeat of the season in five games. 

Here's a look at three talking points from RCB vs DC clash: 

1. Phil Salt’s run-out changed things around for RCB  

Royal Challengers Bangalore made their best start in the powerplay in IPL 2025 against DC with Phil Salt firing on all cylinders. After smacking a six and a four to Axar Patel in the second over, Salt took Mitchell Starc on his radar and tore him apart. 

The first one was clobbered for six over mid-on and it was followed with three successive fours, including a no-ball. On the fourth ball of the over, Starc bowled a back-of-a-length delivery outside off and the top edge went for another six. The Australian seamer went for 30 runs in an over as RCB reached the 50-run mark inside the first three overs. However, things turned around dramatically, thereafter, as Salt had to go back to the pavilion in the next over, courtesy of a miscommunication between the two batters.

Salt punched Axar to the cover region and set for a quick single. Kohli, who was looking at the ball, sent him back. The England batter, who was already halfway down the pitch, slipped as he turned back to reach his crease. KL Rahul was quick to remove the bails and Salt had to depart for a well-made 37 off 17 balls. RCB lost the plot, thereafter, as the other batters couldn’t get going. Devdutt Padikkal, who had a great outing with the bat in the previous game, failed to get his timing right. Kohli departed soon after, while the likes of Liam Livingstone (4) and Jitesh Sharma (3) got out cheaply as well. From a position of strength (61 for 1 in four overs), RCB slipped to 102 for 5 in 12.2 overs. 

2. KL Rahul- Version 2.0 

Finally, KL Rahul has moved past his ‘Strike Rate’ remark and is playing like he should in T20 cricket. He is showcasing a different version of him this IPL and we are certainly loving every bit of it. Once again, he started positively and didn’t look to take a lot of time to get his eye in. The Delhi Capitals batter took to the attack despite two wickets falling early.

However, when RCB managed to pick two more wickets in short intervals, KL Rahul showed maturity to slow things down and build a partnership. He paced his innings wonderfully but also ensured that he didn't go into a shell. The former Punjab skipper built a solid partnership with Tristan Stubbs for the fifth wicket and guided his team home quite comfortably in the end. 

The match was evenly poised till the 14th over. However, little did anyone know what KL Rahul had planned against Josh Hazlewood in the following over. He hit three fours and a six off Hazlewood and stole the momentum completely from RCB. The 32-year-old went on to play an unbeaten knock of 93 runs off just 53 deliveries, striking at 175.47. 

3. Delhi Spinners choke RCB batting unit

On a two-paced surface, the batters found it hard to play cross-batted shots. Delhi spinners found some assistance from the surface and were right on the money in the first innings. Kuldeep Yadav has been making waves with his exceptional piece of bowling this season. Once again, he was brilliant, not giving any bad balls to the batters while varying his pace and lengths wonderfully.

Both Rajat Patidar and Jitesh Sharma fell prey to him, getting out while trying to play across the line. Vipram Nigam has been a great find for Delhi this season. He provided great support at the other end, mixing up quite well. He took the wickets of Kohli and Krunal, giving away just 17 runs in his four overs. The two spinners returned with figures of 4 for 35 in eight overs combined.