BENGALURU: Delhi Capitals continue their unbeaten streak in the 18th season of the IPL with a six-wicket victory over Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Chasing a target of 164 runs, Delhi bounced back from an early collapse thanks to a brilliant unbeaten innings of 93* off 53 balls by Bengaluru's own "local boy" KL Rahul. Delhi sealed the win in 17.5 overs.

Delhi's chase started poorly. At just 30 runs, they had already lost Faf du Plessis (2 off 7), Jake Fraser-McGurk (7 off 6), and Abhishek Porel (7 off 7). When captain Axar Patel (15 off 11) fell as the fourth wicket, Delhi's score was 58/4 in 8.4 overs. KL Rahul then found a steady partner in Tristan Stubbs, who supported him with a solid 38 off 23 balls. Rahul's innings included seven fours and six sixes.

For RCB, Bhuvneshwar Kumar took two wickets, while Yash Dayal and Suyash Sharma picked up one each. With this win, Delhi now has four wins from four matches this season. Bangalore, on the other hand, has won three and lost two out of their five games.

Despite a fiery start from opener Phil Salt, RCB’s batters couldn’t capitalize. They crossed the 50-run mark within the first three overs but could only manage 163/7 in the allotted 20 overs. The Delhi Capitals bowlers kept things tight, striking regularly and never letting RCB batters settle.

The opening pair of Phil Salt (37 off 17) and Virat Kohli (22 off 14) put on a quick 61 runs from 23 balls, but once they were dismissed, RCB added just 102 runs from the remaining 97 balls. Devdutt Padikkal (1 off 8) and captain Rajat Patidar (25 off 23) disappointed. Liam Livingstone was out for 4 off 6, while wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma struggled, scoring just 3 runs off 11 balls. Krunal Pandya also failed to accelerate, scoring only 18 from 18.

It was Tim David, arriving at No. 8, who ensured RCB crossed the 150-run mark. He remained unbeaten on 37 off 20 balls, hitting four sixes and two boundaries, salvaging the innings from a dire 125/7 situation.