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Sometimes sport writes the most perfect stories. KL Rahul started the IPL 2026 seaosn at low, two single-digit scores, a golden duck, questions about his form, questions about everything.

Then on Saturday afternoon at the Arun Jaitley Stadium he produced a century off 47 balls that was as emphatic a response as any batter has ever given to their critics in this tournament. His sixth IPL hundred. The fastest by any batter in Delhi Capitals history. And a knock that had the home crowd on their feet from the moment he announced his intentions in the very first over.

DC vs PBKS: KL Rahul smashes stunning century against Punjab Kings for Delhi Capitals

KL Rahul was quick from the start in a way that he simply had not been in this IPL season. He scored 35 of the 68 runs DC made in the powerplay at a strike rate above 200, attacking from ball one and setting the tone for what was to follow.

He was dropped twice, by Shashank Singh on 12 and by Vijaykumar Vyshak off his own bowling on 51, and capitalised on both reprieves to devastating effect. After the powerplay he refused to let the acceleration drop, step-hitting Yuzvendra Chahal for six over long-on and then stepping out of his crease against the leg-spinner to pick him for back-to-back fours in the 11th over.

KL Rahul entered the 90s with a four, six, four, four sequence off Arshdeep Singh in the 14th over that was among the most brutal passages of batting seen at this ground all season, and reached his century with a drive down the ground off Marco Jansen in the 15th over. DC were 189 for 1 at that point with five overs still remaining.

The records that fell during DC vs PBKS match

This was KL Rahul's 6th IPL century, placing him alongside Chris Gayle in the all-time list with only Virat Kohli on 8 and Jos Buttler on 7 ahead of him. It was also his first sub-50 ball hundred in the IPL, his fastest by a significant margin, the previous benchmark being a 26-ball fifty against CSK in 2021.

The century was the fastest ever by a DC batter, surpassing Quinton de Kock's 48-ball effort against RCB at Bangalore back in April 2016. It also gave Rahul a unique distinction, he has now scored two IPL hundreds each for Punjab Kings, Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals, making him the only player in IPL history to hit multiple centuries for three different franchises.

The only other batters to hit hundreds for multiple teams are Quinton de Kock across DC, LSG and MI, and Sanju Samson across DC, CSK and RR.

Also READ: Axar Patel makes it seven toss wins in a row as Delhi bat first vs Punjab without Mitchell Starc

DC vs PBKS: Why this innings by KL Rahul mattered beyond the numbers

The knock was not just statistically significant, it was emotionally necessary. Rahul had been DC's biggest concern this season, the most experienced name in their lineup producing the least when the team needed him most.

On Saturday he dismissed it himself, with the bat, in the most emphatic way possible. DC were 189 for 1 after 15 overs and threatening to post a total that Punjab Kings would have very little answer to. Whether or not DC go on to win the match, what Rahul did today was remind everyone, including himself, exactly why he is one of the finest batters this tournament has ever seen.

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