KL Rahul flourished in the opener's role, smashing an unbeaten century to propel Delhi Capitals to 199 for 3 against Gujarat Titans in a crucial Indian Premier League clash here on Sunday.

Promoted to open the innings, Rahul rose to the occasion in style, hammering 14 fours and four sixes during his unbeaten 112 off 65 balls. In the process, he became the third fastest to 8000 T20 runs, reaching the milestone in 224 innings.

Asked to bat first, DC suffered an early blow when Faf du Plessis (5) was dismissed by Arshad Khan (1/7 in 2 overs) in the fourth over.

Rahul, however, anchored the innings with composure and aggression, forging a 90-run stand off 52 balls with Abishek Porel (30), followed by a 45-run partnership in 26 balls with skipper Axar Patel (25), and an unbroken 48-run stand off 22 deliveries with Tristan Stubbs (21 not out).

Rahul was in complete control, peppering the off-side with crisp cut shots and clearing the ropes with ease. He pulled Kagiso Rabada over long leg for his first six, and followed it up with another over long-off.

Abishek chipped in with two sixes before falling to Sai Kishore, but Rahul continued to accelerate, finding three fortunate boundaries in a single over off the left-arm spinner.

Axar joined the act with a four and a six off Sai Kishore to push the score past 150, before being dismissed by Prasidh Krishna.

Rahul kept the momentum going, launching two sixes in the 19th over to bring up his century in 60 balls — his first ton this season and fifth in the IPL.

Stubbs provided the finishing touches with a couple of big hits as DC finished just shy of the 200-run mark.

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