Published: April 24, 2026 at 12:00 am
Sanju Samson smashed his second century of the season and Akeal Hosein had Mumbai Indians in a spin trap as Chennai Super Kings romped to a massive 103-run win at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday night.
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Sanju struck an unbeaten 101 off 54 balls with 10 fours and six sixes as he took Chennai Super Kings to a challenging 207 for six. In a match where the next best score by a batter from either side was Tilak Varma’s 37, Sanju’s innings turned out to be masterclass. He displayed controlled aggression and was willing to hang in at one end when the others were falling. That temperament was what made all the difference between both sides. Incidentally, Sanju’s century is the first one by a Chennai Super Kings batter against Mumbai Indians. The previous best was Ruturaj Gaikwad’s unbeaten 88 in the 2021 season.
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Hosein proves unplayable
Chasing a tricky target, Mumbai Indians faltered at the very start of the innings. Chennai skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad opened the innings with the West Indies left-arm spinner Hosein and the move paid off rich dividends. Hosein had Danish Malewar (0) caught by Sanju off the sixth ball of the innings.
Akeal Hosein was on a rampage at the Wankhede Stadium against Mumbai Indians
To make matters worse, Mukesh Choudhary bowled Quinton De Kock (7) in the second over and Hosein packed off Naman Dhir (0) in his next over. Mumbai Indians were in tatters at 11 for three. Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav had no other option but to put their heads down and rebuild the innings. As they were doing that, the run-rate kept mounting.
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The duo added 73 for the fourth wicket off 56 balls and Tilak, who had struck a century in the previous game, was warming up to the task. It looked like the duo will put up a fight but Hosein, who came back for his third over, had different ideas. He bowled Tilak (37) to unsettle the Mumbai Indians.
Noor gets into the act
In the very next over, Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad got into the act. He got rid of Hardik Pandya (0) and Sherfane Rutherford (0) off successive balls. Hosein completed the rout in the next over as he had Suryakumar caught by Sarfaraz for 35 and that virtually ended Mumbai’s challenge. Mumbai Indians folded up for 104 in 19 overs with only Tilak and Suryakumar crossing the double figures.
Spinners Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad decimated the Mumbai Indians as Chennai romped to a 103-run victory
Hosein finished with four for 17 and Noor took two for 23.
“The wicket was offering both. Some were swinging and gripping as well. So, I wanted to use the conditions. That was definitely the plan, to stay on the stumps. If they hit you off the stumps, then kudos to them. I think one thing that sticks with me is what Dwayne Bravo says. That if you’re going to bowl in the powerplay you’re going to be hit so you have to get that out of your mind. [On Noor Ahmad] Always a pleasure to see Noor doing his thing. Happy to see him successful again tonight,” said Hosein after the game.
Chennai rise to 5th spot
With this win, Chennai rise to the fifth spot in the IPL table, while Mumbai are eighth. It’s MI’s worst defeat in the IPL and also the first time they’ve slumped to three consecutive defeats at the Wankhede in a single season.
Earlier, Sanju Samson single-handedly steered Chennai Super Kings past the 200-run mark as the opener stayed till the end to ensure that his bowlers had a total to defend. The next best score after Sanju’s 101 was captain Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 22 and that shows from where all the runs for Chennai came from.
Mumbai Indians Tilak Varma congratulates Chennai Super Kings opener Sanju Samson on his unbeaten century at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday night
Sanju kept going at a strike rate of over 200 but with wickets falling, he slowed down a touch but made sure to stick around and give Chennai a strong finish. He finished with a boundary off the last ball bowled by Krish Bhagat. In the process, he struck two centuries in a season for the first time in his IPL career. This was his second century for Chennai and also his fifth century of the IPL.
Sanju holds the innings together
Sanju and Ruturaj gave their side a flying start with a 32-run stand off 20 balls. Thereafter, there were quite a few stands but all of them petered out when it mattered. The best stand was 43 between Sanju and Kartik Sharma (18) for the fifth wicket. Sanju had also added 40 off 16 balls for the second wicket with Sarfaraz Khan (14).
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But with wickets falling regularly at the other end, it was left to Sanju to not only hold up one end but also to give his side the thrust at the death. While Chennai had scored 73 for two in the powerplay, they could only muster 91 for two in the middle overs. Thanks to Sanju, they got 43 in the last four overs to cross the 200-run mark.
But with wickets falling regularly at the other end, it was left to Sanju to not only hold up one end but also to give his side the thrust at the death. Pics: BCCI
AM Ghazanfar was arguably the pick of the bowlers for Mumbai. He was near impossible to hit, while picking up two wickets. Ashwani Kumar also picked up two wickets, to add to his four he took in the last game.
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“The powerplay, losing early wickets it’s always going to be tricky. We couldn’t cope after that. We should have just batted better. They batted on the same pitch. Just that Sanju played an outstanding knock and their batters kept coming and chipping away to a decent total. For us to chase it down we had to have a good powerplay and have the momentum but it didn’t work out,” said Mumbai skipper Hardik Pandya.
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Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 207 for six in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 101 not out, Ruturaj Gaikwad 22, Dewald Brevis 21; AM Ghazanfar 2/25, Ashwani Kumar 2/37) beat Mumbai Indians 104 in 19 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 35, Tilak Varma 37; Akeal Hosein 4/17, Noor Ahmad 2/23).
