Sanju Samson’s move to Chennai Super Kings is already shaping up to be one of the stories of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. The wicketkeeper-batsman showed again exactly why he has become so important to the side on Tuesday night in Delhi, smashing an unbeaten 87 to lead CSK to a comfortable 8-wicket win over Delhi Capitals.
The knock not only kept CSK firmly alive in the playoffsbut also had captain Ruturaj Gaikwad openly calling Samson the ‘backbone’ of the batting line-up after yet another match-winning performance from the star batsman.
IPL, DC vs CSK: UPDATE | SCORECARD
“In terms of batting, I would say, I mean, more than grateful to have Sanja in the side after the tournament he had even in the World Cup and even now. So he’s obviously the backbone now,” Ruturaj said at the post-match presentation.
“But bowling is something that wins you tournaments. And you, of course, having Akeal and Jamie do the job where, you know, everybody goes more than 10 or 12. They just quietly come in and do the job.”
The praise was fully deserved.
Chasing a modest 155, CSK never looked under pressure. Samson handled the shifts beautifully, while Delhi again struggled to create pressure either with the ball or fielding.
The result moved ČSK to 10 points from 10 matches and suddenly made the playoffs even tighter.
HOW WAS SANJU SAMSON IN IPL 2026?
This season is slowly turning into one of Samson’s best IPL campaigns.
After completing the 2026 T20 World Cup as player of the tournament for India, he carried the same form straight into CSK colours. Tuesday’s unbeaten 87 against DC was his third 80-plus score this season.
And the pattern around his performances is increasingly impossible to ignore.
Whenever Samson crossed 40 in IPL 2026, CSK won the match. That’s no longer just good form, it’s the right consistency of winning matches.
What stood out the most was the way he handled chases. Against Delhi, he controlled the innings perfectly, never letting the required rate become an issue, while scoring quickly enough to kill the match early.
Even at the beginning of this season, smashed an unbeaten century against the same opposition in Chennai.
HOW CSK DEFEATED DC
Delhi’s innings never really took off despite batting first.
CSK bowlers again quietly controlled the middle overs with Akeal Hosein and Jamie Overton doing a great job of slowing things down as DC looked for momentum.
The home side eventually managed only 156 for 7, a score which Axar Patel later conceded was at least 10-15 runs short.
Once the chase started, CSK never looked uncomfortable.
Samson anchored the innings calmly while the rest of the batting line-up played smartly around him. The Delhi bowlers struggled to put pressure on the score and the chase was slowly turning into a one-sided finish.
In the end, Chennai walked away with a comfortable eight-wicket win and suddenly looked very much alive again in the playoffs.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
May 6, 2026 09:56 IST
