KL Rahul leads Delhi to eight-wicket win over Lucknow in IPL

KL RAHUL hit an unbeaten 57 to help Delhi Capitals beat Lucknow Super Giants by eight wickets in the IPL on Tuesday.

Delhi were chasing 160 and reached the target with 13 balls to spare. Rahul shared a 69-run partnership with Abishek Porel, who made 51, and remained not out to see his team through.

With this result, Delhi returned to winning ways after their loss to Gujarat Titans and now have six wins in eight games. They are placed second in the 10-team table.

Mukesh Kumar played a key role with the ball, picking four wickets and helping Delhi restrict Lucknow to 159-6 after they had been 87-0.

"Once we picked up two quick wickets, we got the momentum and all the bowlers did well to restrict them under 160," Delhi captain Axar Patel said.

Delhi lost Karun Nair early for 15, bowled by part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram. Porel and Rahul then steadied the innings with a stand of 69. Markram returned to dismiss Porel, who hit five fours and a six in his 36-ball innings.

Rahul remained at the crease and combined with Axar, who made 34 not out, for an unbeaten 56-run partnership. The match ended with Rahul hitting the winning six.

This was Rahul’s third half-century of the season, and the knock took him past 5,000 runs in the IPL. He became the fastest player to reach the milestone in the tournament.

Lucknow fall short after strong start

Earlier, Lucknow’s innings was built on a 87-run opening stand between Aiden Markram (52) and Mitchell Marsh (45) inside the first 10 overs.

Markram reached his half-century before being dismissed by Dushmantha Chameera. That triggered a collapse. Mitchell Starc bowled Nicholas Pooran for nine, and Mukesh took two wickets in one over, including Marsh.

Lucknow brought in Ayush Badoni as an impact player after Marsh's exit. Badoni made 36 off 21 balls, hitting three boundaries in a row off Mukesh in the last over before being bowled on the fourth delivery.

Rishabh Pant came in at number seven and faced just two balls before being bowled by Mukesh on the final ball of the innings.

"We knew we were 20 runs short," Pant said. "In Lucknow, the toss plays a big part. Whoever is bowling first, they get a lot of help from the wicket. We just had to stay back, we just couldn't get it away."

Pant, who was bought for $3.21 million at the auction in November, has scored 106 runs in eight innings this season, with a top score of 63.

(With inputs from agencies)