In a match where spinners dictated the conditions and scoring was far from easy, Sanju Samson once again took center stage and put team success ahead of personal milestones as Chennai Super Kings secured a comfortable win over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Fresh off a key role in India’s T20 World Cup triumph, Samson’s IPL season has been a mixed bag, brilliant at times, inconsistent at others. Two centuries earlier in the campaign, his performance largely followed the pattern. But on this occasion he showed a different side to his game. Showing poise and awareness, Samson anchored the chase with the calm authority of a seasoned fighter, ensuring there were no hiccups on a surface that offered plenty of spin help.
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Understanding the conditions early, Samson opted to go against Delhi’s spin duo, especially Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav. Realizing that allowing them to settle into a rhythm could complicate the chase, he instead opted for calculated aggression to keep the pressure on the bowlers.
“A hundred is always special,” Samson said after being named man of the match. He finished unbeaten on 87 off 52 deliveries, an innings studded with six sixes that combined control with timely acceleration, leading CSK to an eight-wicket win over DC.
Despite approaching a century, Samson made it clear that winning for the team comes first. “I had to be too selfish to get it. The other partner was batting well so I wasn’t asking for a strike just to get a hundred. There are more matches to come so hopefully I can get there another time,” he added, underscoring his team approach.
Just after Sanju Samson completed his half-century, Ravi Shastri said the innings was as good as the two centuries he has scored this season considering how tough the batting conditions were today.
87*(52) is his best innings so far this season for me pic.twitter.com/orSWSOmkvd— Sanju Samson Fan Page (@SanjuSamsonFP) May 5, 2026
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At the other end, Kartik Sharma continued his rapid rise for CSK. After being promoted to the No. 4 position, the youngster quickly grew into the role. After registering his first IPL half-century in Chennai last weekhe carried that confidence into this fixture and played a key supporting hand.
The duo put together a match-winning partnership of 114 runs, with Kartik perfectly complementing Samson’s dominance. He rotated the strike effectively, picked his moments to attack and kept the scoreboard moving. One notable moment came when he executed a stunning inside-out shot through the covers in front of Kuldeep, a stroke that exuded both confidence and class.
Kartik’s steady rise is starting to justify the significant investment CSK made in him, and his growing maturity at the crease has added stability to the middle order. Talking about the partnership, he said, “Sanju bhaiya mentioned that he kept the ball a bit. We didn’t focus on any particular bowler, we just played on the merit of each delivery.”
A win will keep Chennai Super Kings firmly in the hunt for the playoffs. With eight points, they are sixth in the table, a touch behind the top four. Importantly, they also have a match against some of their rivals, giving them an opportunity to climb further up the ladder.
CSK now turn their attention to crucial back-to-back matches against Lucknow Super Giants, both home and away, on May 10 and 15 respectively. With momentum on their side and key players finding form at the right time, they will be confident of stepping up their push for the play-offs in the coming games.
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Published on:
May 6, 2026 0:04 AM IST
