IPL 2025: Cheteshwar Pujara hails KL Rahul after DC win against LSG

Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara showered praise on KL Rahul after Delhi Capitals registered a eight-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants at Lucknow on Tuesday. Rahul scored an unbeaten knock of 57 runs off 42 balls with the help of three fours and as many sixes in the run-chase of 160 against his former team. 

This was Rahul’s third fifty of the season and he also completed 5000 runs in the IPL, becoming the fastest batter to reach the milestone in 130 innings.

Meanwhile, Rahul had a famous fallout with LSG owner Sanjiv Goenka after they suffered an ignominious 10-wicket loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous season. Pujara said it was imperative for Rahul to move on from the past and deliver for his new franchise.

The wicket-keeper bat has been in tremendous form as he has scored 323 runs in seven matches of IPL 2025 at an average of 64.60 and a strike rate of 153.81.

Speaking on ESPNcricinfo’s TimeOut, Pujara said, “Just move on, don’t carry any baggage from the past. That’s a good thing. KL is a mature player. Over the last couple of years, he’s been batting well across formats. He doesn’t want to think about the past and just wants to enjoy his batting and stay in his zone.”

“It’s good to move on, which will also help him perform well for DC and even for the Indian team,” Pujara added. “He looks a lot more mature now and understands his game very well. We’ve seen a different KL Rahul this season. When he started [against LSG], he didn’t look that fluid, but he still picked it up.”

Rahul had also scored 140 runs in four innings of the Champions Trophy and had played a key role in taking India to glory.

Delhi Capitals will next take on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on Sunday.