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KL Rahul is one of the finest batters Delhi Capitals have ever had and one of the most elegant openers in the history of the IPL.

But right now, in the early stages of IPL 2026, he looks like a man searching desperately for something he cannot find. A golden duck against LSG in the opener. Then one run off three balls against Mumbai Indians today before edging Deepak Chahar behind to the keeper.

Two games, four balls, one run. For a player averaging 69.71 against Mumbai Indians with three centuries to his name against them, what is happening right now is not just a lean patch, it is a full-blown statistical anomaly that nobody saw coming.

KL Rahul vs Deepak Chahar: The IPL record that fell today

Before this afternoon, KL Rahul versus Deepak Chahar was the most one-sided batter-bowler rivalry in IPL history.

Across 13 innings and 103 balls, Rahul had scored 160 runs against Chahar without ever being dismissed, the IPL record for the most runs scored against a single bowler without losing your wicket. It was the kind of stat that felt almost mythical.

Then Chahar bowled a fuller delivery angling down leg, Rahul went for the flick, got a thin inside edge and Ryan Rickelton dived to his left to complete the catch. Just like that, 13 innings of absolute dominance ended with one run on the board and a long walk back to the pavilion.

Rrecord is gone and streak is over. And the manner of the dismissal, an inside edge on a ball he should have left or played with softer hands, spoke to a batter who is not moving as fluently as he usually does at the crease.

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The bigger picture and what it means for DC vs MI

Numbers from Rahul's IPL 2026 so far are almost painful to look at. One run from four balls across two matches. A strike rate of 25. His worst start to an IPL season since his debut back in 2013.

He came into today's game needing just 24 runs to become the first player in IPL history to score 1000 runs against Mumbai Indians, instead he recorded his lowest ever score against them. In both games this season Delhi have found themselves in early trouble because of his dismissal, forced into recovery mode and relying on the middle order to bail them out.

Against LSG they were 26 for 4 before Sameer Rizvi and Tristan Stubbs steadied the ship. Today the collapse began all over again with Rahul gone in the first over.

Pathum Nissanka is effectively opening without a partner at the other end and the pressure that puts on the rest of the batting order is significant. If Rahul does not find his rhythm against Gujarat Titans in the next game, the conversation around his form, and what it means for his captaincy, is only going to get louder.

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