Rivals on the field, but clearly friends off it—this sentiment came alive ahead of the high-octane IPL 2025 clash between Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, as Axar Patel, Karun Nair, and Shardul Thakur shared a heartwarming moment during a practice session at the Ekana Stadium.
The camaraderie was on full display when Axar humorously dropped all his gear upon spotting Thakur and greeted him with a mock-serious salute. “For you, I have to keep everything down first and then meet you properly, The Lord,” Axar quipped, poking fun at Thakur’s cult nickname, “Lord Shardul.”
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Never one to miss a chance at playful banter, Shardul Thakur fired back, teasing, “It’s not like I’m Karun Nair, am I? Karun Nair’s scene is different,” as laughter erupted around them. Thakur’s jabs continued when he spotted Karun practicing in the nets, joking, “Are you sharing your nets with someone? You should be batting alone.” Karun cheekily replied, “Take what you get, have you heard that saying?” before getting back to work.
Bapu, Lord and Nair fire 🔥😂 pic.twitter.com/mbs1wPQHK5
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 21, 2025
But the fun was soon replaced by fierce competition, and Delhi had the last laugh on match night. The Capitals cruised to a dominant 8-wicket win, powered by a clinical bowling performance that saw LSG stumble from 87/1 to 159/6. The Delhi pacers bowled with precision, capitalising on some baffling mid-innings tactics by former LSG skipper Rishabh Pant.
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In reply, young Abishek Porel laid the platform with a confident 51 off 36 balls. KL Rahul (57* off 42) and Axar Patel (34* off 20) sealed the chase with ease, finishing the job with 13 balls to spare. It was a sweet moment of redemption for Rahul, who led LSG from 2022 to 2024 before an infamous fallout with team owner Sanjiv Goenka.
Released ahead of the 2025 season, Rahul was snapped up by Delhi Capitals, and he has looked rejuvenated in his new avatar. With 323 runs from 7 games at an average of 64.60 and a strike rate of 153.81, Rahul seems to have rediscovered his rhythm, and Delhi Capitals are reaping the rewards.
