Published: May 5, 2026 at 11:35 pm
Sanju Samson put in yet another herculean effort to steer Chennai Super Kings to a thumping eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday night.
Replying to Delhi’s 155 for seven, Samson and Kartik Sharma shared an unbeaten 114-run partnership for the third wicket that took Chennai to 159 for two in 17.3 overs. Samson scored 72 of those off 35 balls and Kartik made a 31-ball 41.
https://x.com/IPL/status/2051721434343653874?s=20
On yet another hot day, Samson was on the field for 37.3 overs as he shepherded the chase. Chennai, who have had an indifferent tournament, need to win all their matches to be in contention for a top four position.
Samson has taken up the responsibility of ensuring that Chennai won’t go down without a fight. His maturity and level-headed approach, once again, helped Chennai to now pursue their goal.
I like to be called Sanju more, says Samson
“They are calling me Chetta but I like Sanju more … (laughs) I have been working a bit on my initial movement and it has been coming off. I’ve been doing it for the last few years and it’s tactical as well depending on the bowlers and how you want to approach them … to be very honest I am always like this (calm) but you are seeing me more in the middle now so you feel I am calm, even outside I am calm. Looking at what we were chasing, how the wicket was behaving, even if we were 35 for no loss in the powerplay, we could capitalise in the middle overs. I had to be a bit too selfish to get a hundred so I thought let’s win the game … finishing not out, winning the game gives you more satisfaction,” said Samson, who was named the Player of the Match.
Kartik Sharma and Sanju Samson shared an unbeaten 114-run partnership for the third wicket that took Chennai Super Kings to an eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday night. Pics: BCCI
Chennai lost skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (6) with 24 on the board and Urvil Patel (17) too did not last long. At 45 for two, Chennai were back in familiar terrain and Delhi smelt blood. However, they had not contented with Samson and Kartik, who for the second match in the running, has proved that he is worth the money that Chennai have spent for him.
Samson and Kartik finish the game
The duo completed the formalities without much ado to consign Delhi to yet another loss.
https://x.com/IPL/status/2051717637672251496?s=20
“We were always positive, we were always closer than we were last year, we had covered all bases, Sanju coming in … we just needed a couple of wins, after the third game we got that and it started coming together. Obviously Sanju is the backbone now … the bowling wins you tournaments, we have Akeal, Overton … Kamboj is also there, smart bowler, he had an off day today but he’s been impressive. (Kartik Sharma) His skillset was already there, he just needed a couple of games to start with, he didnt get the time in previous games, now he got the time, he’s not a wild slogger, he can rotate strike and hit the pockets, good to get his confidence going,” said Gaikwad.
Tristan Stubbs and Sameer Rizvi added 65 for the sixth wicket to help Delhi Capitals reach 155 for seven
Earlier, Delhi failed to make it count in the Power Play as they lost wickets. Pathum Nissanka (19), KL Rahul (12), Nitish Rana (15), Karun Nair (13) and Axar Patel (2) went with the score reading 69 as the Chennai bowlers took a vice-like grip on the game.
Tristan Stubbs and Sameer Rizvi then added 65 for the sixth wicket to salvage the position to some extent. Stubbs made 38 and Rizvi remained unbeaten on 40 but Delhi Capitals could muster only 155 for seven.
Brief scores: Delhi Capitals 155 for seven in 20 overs (Tristan Stubbs 38, Sameer Rizvi 40 not out; Noor Ahmad 2/22) lost to Chennai Super Kings 159 for two in 17.3 overs (Sanju Samson 87 not out, Kartik Sharma 41 not out).
