Delhi Capitals stretches unbeaten run in IPL to four games with six-wicket win over Bengaluru

BENGALURU, India (AP) — Delhi Capitals stretched its winning streak to four games with a six-wicket victory, handing Royal Challengers Bengaluru a second home defeat in the Indian Premier League on Thursday.

Bengaluru wasted opener Phil Salt’s quickfire 37 off 17 balls and was restricted to 163-7. Wrist spinners Vipraj Nigam and Kuldeep Yadav picked up four wickets for just 35 runs in their combined eight overs.

Lokesh Rahul then followed his 77 against Chennai Super Kings with another masterful unbeaten 93 off 53 balls as he led Delhi to 169-4 with more than two overs to spare.

Bengaluru had a chance when Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s two strikes had Delhi stuttering at 58-4 before Rahul and Tristan Stubbs (38 not out) combined in a match-winning unbroken 111-run stand off 55 balls.

Delhi, with eight points from four successive wins, share top spot with Gujarat Titans, which has played one more game.

Bengaluru, with three away wins and two home defeats, is third on six points.

Rahul soaked up the pressure of losing early wickets before counterpunching in the second half of Delhi’s impeccable run-chase, with Stubbs also dominating the spin bowlers with reverse sweeps.

Faf du Plessis recovered from a hamstring injury but scored only two off seven balls against his former franchise before he top-edged fast bowler Yash Dayal in the second over.

Jake Fraser-McGurk (7) and Abishek Porel (7) went cheaply, skying catches to wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma off Kumar’s short balls, and captain Axar Patel (15) was taken at long-off as Delhi chase got derailed in the ninth over.

Bengaluru missed a golden opportunity when Rajat Patidar couldn’t cling onto a difficult two-handed running catch off Rahul.

“On a wicket like this, I knew what my pockets were,” Rahul said. “If I wanted to hit a big six, I knew what pockets to target, and (wicket) keeping gave me a feel for where other batters were dismissed and where they hit the sixes.”

Rahul raised his half century off 37 balls but upped the ante when he smashed premier Bengaluru fast bowler Josh Hazlewood for 22 runs in the 15th over, which featured three fours and a six over long off.

Rahul finished with six sixes and seven fours as he shared Delhi’s best fifth-wicket IPL stand with Stubbs.

“Got lucky with the dropped catch,” Rahul said.“This is my ground, my home, know it better than anyone else.”

Salt’s assault against Mitchell Starc helped Bengaluru raise the fastest half century by a team in this edition of the IPL, in just three overs, with the Australian paceman's second over going for 30 runs.

Salt hit four fours and three sixes before he was involved in a bizarre run-out when he slipped after Virat Kohli initially went for a tight single but then turned back.

Bengaluru never got back the momentum against spinners Nigam and Yadav before Tim David slammed an unbeaten 37 off 20 balls.

Kohli made 22 off 14 balls.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans cheer for their team during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Tim David plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Phil Salt, right, is run-out by Delhi Capitals' wicketkeeper KL Rahul during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Delhi Capitals' Vipraj Nigam (28) celebrates with captain Axar Patel after the dismissal of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Virat Kohli walks off the field after losing his wicket during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Delhi Capitals' Ashutosh Sharma, right, celebrates after taking the catch to dismiss Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Liam Livingstone during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Delhi Capitals' Kuldeep Yadav celebrates the dismissal of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's captain Rajat Patidar during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Bhuvneshwar Kumar, fourth left, celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of Delhi Capitals' Abishek Porel during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Delhi Capitals' KL Rahul, left, and his batting partner Tristan Stubbs run between the wickets to score during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Delhi Capitals' KL Rahul celebrates after winning the Indian Premier League cricket match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Delhi Capitals' Tristan Stubbs plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Delhi Capitals' KL Rahul plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, India, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois landlord who killed a 6-year-old Muslim boy and severely injured the boy's mother in a brutal hate-crime attack days after the war in Gaza began was sentenced Friday to 53 years in prison.

Joseph Czuba, 73, was found guilty in February of murder, attempted murder and hate-crime charges in the death of Wadee Alfayoumi and the wounding of his mother, Hanan Shaheen.

Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak sentenced Czuba to 30 years in the boy's death and another 20 years consecutively for the attack on Shaheen. The judge also sentenced him to three years imprisonment for hate crimes. The length of the sentence makes it all but certain he will die behind bars.

Czuba did not speak during the sentencing. His attorney, George Lenard, didn't immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The boy's great-uncle, Mohmoud Yousef, was the only family member who spoke during the hearing. He said that no matter the sentence length it wouldn't be enough. The boy's parents had plans for him and Czuba robbed them of that, he said.

Yousef asked Czuba to explain why he attacked the boy and his mother, asking him what news he heard that provoked him, but Czuba did not respond, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Czuba targeted them in October 2023 because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas.

Evidence at trial included harrowing testimony from Shaheen and her frantic 911 call, along with bloody crime scene photos and police video. Jurors deliberated less than 90 minutes before handing in a verdict.

The family had been renting rooms in Czuba’s home in Plainfield, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Chicago when the attack happened.

Central to prosecutors' case was harrowing testimony from the boy’s mother, who said Czuba attacked her before moving on to her son, insisting they had to leave because they were Muslim. Prosecutors also played the 911 call and showed police footage. Czuba's wife, Mary, whom he has since divorced, also testified for the prosecution, saying he had become agitated about the Israel-Hamas war, which had erupted days earlier.

Police said Czuba pulled a knife from a holder on a belt and stabbed the boy 26 times, leaving the knife in the child's body. Some of the bloody crime scene photos were so explicit that the judge agreed to turn television screens showing them away from the audience, which included Wadee's relatives.

“He could not escape,” Michael Fitzgerald, a Will County assistant state’s attorney, told jurors at trial. “If it wasn’t enough that this defendant killed that little boy, he left the knife in the little boy’s body.”

The jury deliberated for 90 minutes before returning a verdict.

The attack renewed fears of anti-Muslim discrimination and hit particularly hard in Plainfield and surrounding suburbs, which have a large and established Palestinian community. Wadee's funeral drew large crowds and Plainfield officials have dedicated a park playground in his honor.

Shaheen had more than a dozen stab wounds and it took her weeks to recover.

She said there were no prior issues in the two years she rented from the Czubas, even sharing a kitchen and a living room. Then after the start of the war, Czuba told her that they had to move out because Muslims were not welcome. He later confronted Shaheen and attacked her, holding her down, stabbing her and trying to break her teeth.

“He told me ‘You, as a Muslim, must die,’” said Shaheen, who testified at trial in English and Arabic though a translator.

Police testified that officers found Czuba outside the house, sitting on the ground with blood on his body and hands.

Separately, lawsuits have been filed over the boy’s death, including by his father, Odai Alfayoumi, who is divorced from Shaheen and was not living with them. The U.S. Department of Justice also launched a federal hate crimes investigation.

Yousef told reporters after the hearing that Czuba was a grandfather figure to Wadee and the family doesn’t understand what “fake news” Czuba may have heard about the war in Gaza that caused him to attack the boy and his mother. People need to understand Muslims before judging them, he said.

“Some people are bringing this war to this country,” Yousef said. “We cannot do that. We can’t bring the war here. We cannot bring hatred to this country . . . we need that to stop.”

Odai Al Fayoumi, father of Wadee Al Fayoumi, who was murdered by Joseph Czuba in 2023, speaks to the media after the sentencing of Czuba outside the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, Ill., Friday, May 2, 2025. (Pat Nabong /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Will County Prosecutor Christopher Koch exits the Will County Courthouse after the sentencing of Joseph Czuba in Joliet, Ill., Friday, May 2, 2025. (Pat Nabong /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Odai Al Fayoumi, left, father of Wadee Al Fayoumi, who was murdered by Joseph Czuba in 2023, walks out of the Will County Courthouse after the sentencing of Czuba in Joliet, Ill., Friday, May 2, 2025. (Pat Nabong /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Odai Al Fayoumi, left, father of Wadee Al Fayoumi, who was murdered by Joseph Czuba in 2023, walks out of the Will County Courthouse after the sentencing of Czuba in Joliet, Ill., Friday, May 2, 2025. (Pat Nabong /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Mahmoud Yousef, grandfather of Wadee Al Fayoumi, who was murdered by Joseph Czuba in 2023, speaks to the media after the sentencing of outside the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, Ill., Friday, May 2, 2025. (Pat Nabong /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Mahmoud Yousef, grandfather of Wadee Al Fayoumi, who was murdered by Joseph Czuba in 2023, speaks to the media after the sentencing of Czuba outside the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, Ill., Friday, May 2, 2025. (Pat Nabong /Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

FILE - Wadee Alfayoumi's father, Oday Al Fayoume, seated right, and his uncle Mahmoud Yousef attend a vigil for Wadee at Prairie Activity and Recreation center in Plainfield, Ill., Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

FILE - Joseph Czuba, 71, stands before Circuit Judge Dave Carlson for his arraignment at the Will County, Ill., courthouse, Oct. 30, 2023, in Joliet, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)