KL Rahul was not part of the playing XI when Delhi Capitals hosted Lucknow Super Giants in Vizag earlier this season in the IPL 2025, but it was probably meant to be in Lucknow on Tuesday, where the Delhi Capitals batter notched up an emotional knock to guide the visitors to a win. But more than his well-composed knock, his reunion with LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka and his son Shashwat Goenka turned out to be the talking point on social media.
Rahul was well aware of the Lucknow conditions, having spent his last three IPL seasons with the Super Giants, before a reported fallout with Goenka saw him part ways with the franchise. Hence, he used his experience to weave a mature knock as Delhi chased down 160 with 13 balls to spare. Rahul scored his third half-century knock in the game as he remained unbeaten on 57 off 42, en route to which he also became the fastest-ever batter in IPL history to complete 5000 runs. He reached the milestone in his 130th innings, five fewer than the previous record holder, David Warner.
After the match, Goenka made his way to the ground and walked up to Rahul to congratulate him. The two shook hands before the LSG owner praised him for his performance. But Rahul simply avoided talking to him, cold-shouldered Goenka and walked away. Rahul did the same with Goenka’s son, Shaswat, who was in the queue after his father. The father-son duo of LSG tried to stop Rahul but the former LSG captain was in no mood for an interaction.
Notably, Goenka had taken an indirect dig at Rahul during an interview with Star Sports, saying that he was rather looking to invest in players who chose team over personal goals.
“It was a simple mindset to go in with players who have a mindset to win, who put the team first before their personal goals and personal aspirations and we wanted to retain as much as of core we could,” said Goenka.
Speaking to the same platform, but in a separate interview, Rahul responded to the jab, saying that he is keen on joining a team where he is given freedom and the atmosphere is better.
“The decision was made already. I don’t know what the comments are but they must have come after the retentions were made. Just felt like I wanted to start fresh, I wanted to explore my options, and I wanted to play somewhere I can find some freedom and a team atmosphere would be something lighter, much more balanced, pressure is already very high in the IPL,” Rahul had said in November before the mega auction.
Delhi’s stunning run continues
For the fifth time in IPL history, Delhi have won six of their first eight matches in an IPL season, the last being in 2021. They qualified for the Play-Offs in each of the four previous seasons. Delhi won four in a row at the start of IPL 2025, before their juggernaut came to an end at home against Mumbai Indians. They bounced back to winning ways after surviving a Super Over thriller against Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, before succumbing to their second defeat this season, against Gujarat Titans. Delhi, however, secured their sixth win on Tuesday after completing a double over Lucknow. They now stand second in the points table, with as many wins as Gujarat, but only separated by an inferior net run rate.
Delhi will next be in action against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at home on April 27.
