IPL 2025, CSK vs DC: Presenting Player of the Day

IPL 2025, CSK vs DC: Presenting Player of the Day
05 Apr 2025

KL Rahul was at his best in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), guiding his new franchise Delhi Capitals (DC) to a 25-run win on a tricky Chepauk pitch.

The right-handed batsman scored an impressive 77 runs off just 51 balls.

His innings was laced with six fours and three sixes as DC finished at 183/6 while batting first.

As CSK were restricted to 158/5 in response, Rahul is our Player of the Day.

Rahul's strategy against CSK's bowlers
Tactical approach

Initially, the dry pitch challenged Rahul, making it hard for the ball to come onto the bat.

He scored just 25 off his first 20 balls with a mere four and six. But once he got into his stride, even CSK's top bowlers couldn't match his performance.

The opener, who completed his fifty off 33 balls, added 50-plus partnerships with Abishek Porel (33) and Sameer Rizvi (20).

Rahul eventually fell in the last overs.

Why Rahul is our Player of the Day?
DYK

Though many initially reckoned Rahul's strike of 150.98 in the game should have been on the higher side, the critics were silenced as CSK batters struggled to get going in the second innings.

Even the set batters Vijay Shankar (69* from 54 balls) and MS Dhoni (30* off 26 balls) struggled to find boundaries consistently.

However, Rahul just did not score at a brilliant rate but also anchored the innings till the last over.

38th IPL fifty for Rahul
Career

Across 134 IPL matches, the wicketkeeper-batter has raced to 4,775 runs.

His average of 45.47 is the highest among batters with at least 1,500 runs. Rahul also owns a strike rate of 135.07 alongside four hundreds and 38 fifties.

This was his sixth half-century against CSK as he has raced to 630 runs across 16 games against them at a brilliant average of 45. His highest score against them reads 98*.