Delhi Capitals’ wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul’s impact on the field was undeniable on Sunday in the match against Gujarat Titans when he crafted a passionate 112-run knock unbeaten to anchor the innings under pressure. Rahul’s unwavering resolve was on full display as he played a major role in lifting the side to a fighting score of 199/3 in 20 overs. DC, after being asked to bat, got off to a shaky start, with their top three batters departing in quick succession and leaving the side reeling under huge pressure.

However, KL Rahul stood firm, braving GT bowlers to lead the DC's recovery. Meanwhile, his knock was overshadowed by Gill's (93*) and Sudharsan’s (108*) match-winning knocks. Both Gill and Sudharsan stitched an unbroken 205-run to comfortably take GT to victory. With the win, Titans sealed their playoff spot as well. Reacting to Rahul’s impeccable knock, former Australian cricketer Tom Moody expressed his disappointment over criticism against KL Rahul. Time and again, KL Rahul has been under fire for his slow strike rate in T20s.

"I always find the criticism around KL Rahul quite extraordinary. I think he's a lot better player than a lot of people give him credit for. And the way I look at this innings, I think it's an outstanding innings. And yeah, look, it'll depend who wins the game to whether he's, you know, the Player of the Match or not. But the way I look at this and I look at the batting card, what's let them down and not reaching that 220 is the other batters that were in only struck at 150. On a [batting-friendly] surface, you want impact,” Moody said on ESPNcricinfo.

"When you've got someone in there that's anchoring, that's building the total, your role when you come in is to impact the game - 30 off ten balls, those types of innings, that suddenly take you to that 220. Instead of pointing the finger at the same person, I think it's the other way around."

Moody further said that there should have been good communication among the batters as KL Rahul faced fewer deliveries between overs 15 and 18, which lost his momentum. 

"The team had the opportunity to get it to 220. The team didn't do that. This is not an individual sport. This is a team sport. And that's where the communication around who's coming in and the communication when you're out there: 'okay, we need to target two boundaries at the beginning of this over; let's make this a big over', that type of conversations,” Moody said

"To me, they just lay idle a little bit in that middle [period]. And also, we've got to recognise KL Rahul, I believe, only faced four [six] balls in a period of four overs in the middle of that. So therefore, you know, he lost a bit of his rhythm as well."