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Cricket PlayersKL Rahul enters IPL folklore! 150 club cracked, first Indian alongside Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum
KL Rahul's century against Punjab Kings marked his sixth IPL hundred, elevating him to sixth on the all-time run-scorers list.
KL Rahul’s innings against the Punjab Kings moved from a Delhi Capitals rescue act to a personal landmark statement. Walking in with Delhi needing control after Axar Patel chose to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Rahul turned a strong start into one of the defining knocks of DC’s season.
The hundred became Rahul’s sixth century in the IPL, putting him in rare company among Indian batters in the tournament’s history. It also came on the same afternoon when he crossed MS Dhoni’s career IPL runs tally, moving to sixth on the all-time run-scorers’ list and adding weight to an innings that already carried match significance.
Rahul had entered the game needing only 13 runs to go past Dhoni. He got there early, with a boundary, and did not stop at the milestone.
The Capitals came into the match placed sixth, with six points from six games, and had not yet produced the kind of home statement that can settle a campaign. Punjab Kings, on the other hand, arrived with momentum and a strong top-half push. KL Rahul reached his hundred off just 47 deliveries while his innings was decorated with 12 fours and six sixes.
Pathum Nissanka’s early dismissal gave Punjab a window. Arshdeep Singh struck in the third over, and Rahul himself had a life in the same phase when Shashank Singh dropped him at deep square leg. Punjab had their moment. Rahul made them pay for missing it.
From there, his innings carried the shape Delhi needed. Nitish Rana’s acceleration gave the partnership bite, especially through the middle overs, but Rahul provided the innings its centre. He absorbed the early movement, picked up boundaries without letting the innings drift, and allowed Delhi to build without losing their grip on tempo.
Rahul’s century changes the conversation around Delhi’s batting
Well, Rahul did not stop after scoring the century. He continued the onslaught, powering DC towards a huge total. The partnership between Rahul and Rana worked 220 runs. While Rahul himself scored 152 runs off 67 balls and remained unbeaten. He became the first Indian to score 150-plus in an innings in IPL history. Rahul's effort has taken him to the third spot in the list of highest individual scores in IPL behind Chris Gayle's 175* and Brendon McCullum's 158*. Notably, Delhi Capitals finished on 264/2 at the end of 20 overs, courtesy of Rahul and Rana's onslaught.
The value of this hundred lies in its timing. Delhi have enough names on paper, but they needed one batter to produce a match-defining innings around which the rest of the order could play. Rahul gave them that frame.
His hundred also mattered because it did not come as a loose, consequence-free score. It came while Delhi were trying to set up a total against a Punjab attack featuring Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Marcus Stoinis. That mix gave Punjab left-arm pace, height, spin, cutters and middle-over control. Rahul’s innings forced them to react.
The century also sharpened Rahul’s standing in IPL history. Six hundreds in the league is not a cosmetic number. It is proof of repeat high-end output across seasons, roles and teams. His critics often reduce him to tempo debates, but hundreds like this complicate that argument. This was not just an accumulation. It was destruction.
