CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad praised Sanju Samson (Image: X) CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad heaped his praise on Sanju Samson after his match-winning unbeaten 87 where he shared a 114-run partnership with Kartik Sharma to seal an 8-wicket win against Delhi Capitals in Delhi.Sanju Samson is playing in IPL 2026 after a historic Rs 18 crore deal from Rajasthan Royals. He is among the top five run scorers this season, consistently in the Orange Cap race with 402 runs in 10 matches at an average of 57.42. In his match against Delhi Capitals yesterday, he smashed an unbeaten 87 off 52 balls which earned him the Player of the Match award. He also scripted and became the first ever batsman to be part of a double-hundred-plus partnership against Delhi Capitals in a single edition of the tournament.
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Stephen Fleming on CSK’s batting struggle, hard pitch and extra bounceHe scored his first hundred of the season (115*) against Delhi Capitals in Chennai and his second (101) against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. During an April 2026 match against Kolkata Knight Riders, he crossed the 5,000-run mark in his IPL career.After Sanju Samson won the match against Delhi Capitals, the CSK captain backed him as the backbone of the team;”Yes, for sure. In terms of batting, I would say, I think, more than grateful to have Sanja in the side after the tournament he had even in the World Cup and even now. So now he’s obviously the backbone,” Ruturaj Gaikwad at the post-match conference.
CSK lives in the playoffs
Chennai Super Kings kept their playoff hopes alive with a commanding eight-wicket victory over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in IPL 2026. After restricting DC to 155/7 on a slow pitch through disciplined bowling from Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad, CSK chased down the target comfortably in 17.3 overs.Despite some resistance from Sameer Rizvi and Tristan Stubbs, Delhi collapsed to 69/5 and never recovered. In reply, Sanju Samson played an unbeaten 87 off 52 balls while Kartik Sharma supported him superbly in an unbroken partnership of 114 runs. The win took CSK to fifth place in the standings while DC came close to elimination.
