Sanju Samson dazzled under the dazzling lights in New Delhi. The keeper batter Sanju Samson showed his class with his stroke play. He batted through and guided the chase. Before that, CSK performed admirably with the ball, with Noor Ahmad and Akeal Hosein doing well to keep the score down to 155/7 in 20 overs, which was a competitive score on the board.
In reply, Ruturaj Gaikwad fell early, while Urvil Patel also played his shots before falling. But it was the Sanju Samson show as the right-hander stamped his authority and won his match for his side. Sanju was unbeaten on 87 runs and carried his bat as Samson showed how it is done. Kartik Sharma also played well as CSK stayed in 6th place in the table.
Disciplined bowling led by Noor Ahmad helped CSK restrict DC to 155/7 in 20 overs
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, Pathum Nissanka and keeper batter KL Rahul came out to open for DC while Akeal Hosein had the ball in hand for CSK. Nissanka started things off with a boundary, and Rahul did the same in the next over. The opening duo of Nissanka and Rahul managed to add 29 runs for the first wicket before Nissanka fell for 19 off 15 balls with 3 fours and one six to his name to Mukesh Choudhary.
Nitish Rana came out to bat next. Rahul and Rana tried to forge a partnership and could add only 7 runs to the score before Rahul fell for 12 off 13 balls with 2 fours to his name to Akeal Hosein.
Karun Nair joined Nitish Rana in the middle during the power play. At the end of the power play of 6 overs, DC were 37/2. Rana and Nair tried to forge a partnership in the middle phase of the game and added 16 runs for the third wicket before Nair fell for 13 off 13 balls with 2 fours to his name to Noor Ahmad. Captain Axar Patel promoted himself up the order and came in next. Rana and Axar added 9 runs to the score before Rana fell for 15 off 13 balls with 2 fours to his name to Noor Ahmad. Tristan Stubbs came out to bat next.
DC were 62/4 in 10 overs, after which Stubbs, batting on 1, was dropped at short covers by Noor of Gurjapneet Singh. Soon, Singh had a wicket to his name as just 8 runs were added to the tally before Patel fell for 2 off 6 balls to Gurjapneet. Impact Player Sameer Rizvi came out to bat with the score at 69/5 in 11 overs.
Stubbs and Rizvi then joined forces and forged a partnership of note. They were leading the fightback of the Delhi Capitals. They played the rest of the middle overs and took the partnership into the death overs as well. Rizvi was the aggressor while Stubbs made CSK pay for the dropped catch. The duo of Rizvi and Stubbs added 65 runs off 47 balls for the 6th wicket before Stubbs was dismissed for 38 off 31 balls with one four and two sixes to his name to Jamie Overton.
Ashutosh Sharma came out to bat next. Ashutosh too came out all guns blazing as he smashed two sixes off Kamboj. The duo added 15 runs for the 7th wicket before Sharma fell for 14 off 5 balls with 2 sixes to his name via a run out. Mitchell Starc came out to bat at the non-striker’s end. Rizvi took strike off the last ball and went down the ground over long-off for the maximum to finish the innings in style.
DC brought up their 150 and finished with 155/7 in 20 overs. Rizvi was unbeaten on 40 off 24 balls with 4 sixes to his name, while Starc was unbeaten on 0 off 0 balls. 2 extras given by the fielding side.
From CSK’s point of view, they bowled well with the ball. Noor Ahmad was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/22 in 3 overs. Akeal Hosein bowled well for his 1/19 in 4 overs. Gurjapneet Singh finished with 1/29 in 4 overs. Mukesh Choudhary finished with 1/31 in 4 overs. Jamie Overton bowled an over for 5 runs and picked up a wicket. Anshul Kamboj gave away 49 runs in 4 overs for 0 wickets. This meant CSK needed 156 runs to win this important contest.
Sanju Samson’s masterclass helps CSK upstage DC and keep their hopes alive
Chasing 156 for the win, keeper batter Sanju Samson and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad came out to open for CSK while Mitchell Starc had the ball in hand for DC. It was a cautious start for CSK as Samson looked decent out there, but Gaikwad looked out of sorts out there in the middle. The opening pair could muster a partnership of 24 runs for the first wicket before Gaikwad fell for 6 off 13 balls with one four to his name to Lungi Ngidi. Urvil Patel came out to bat next.
Samson took his time initially but got his eyes in. Urvil played his shots and took the power play score to 44/1 in 6 overs. The duo of Samson and Urvil added 21 runs for the second wicket before Patel fell for 17 off 9 balls with 2 sixes to his name. Kartik Sharma came out to bat next. The Super Kings were in a spot of bother at this stage. Kartik Sharma took his time, while Samson, holding one end, also accelerated towards the end.
The duo made sure that CSK didn’t suffer any hiccups as they played out the better bowlers, but targeted the loose balls to put them into the fence. But it was the Sanju Samson show as the keeper batter dazzled in New Delhi and slowly took the game away from DC. Kartik hung in there and gave the senior partner more of the strike.
Samson soon got to his fifty and then accelerated. Kartik made sure to take the game deep. Later, with the win in sight, he accelerated and showed his class. Sanju played a defining knock. He showed his maturity and game awareness to guide this chase through. Kartik played his hand as well.
The duo put on an unbroken 114-run stand for the third wicket to flatten DC. Samson was unbeaten on 87 off 52 balls with 7 fours and 6 sixes to his name, while Kartik Sharma was unbeaten on 41 off 31 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name as CSK got to the target of 156 in 17.3 overs, winning by 8 wickets. They finished with 159/2 in 17.3 overs with Samson unbeaten on 87 off 52 balls with 7 fours and 6 sixes to his name. CSK won by 8 wickets with 15 balls to spare to solidify 6th place. 8 extras given by the fielding side.
For DC, Axar Patel, the captain picked up a wicket and finished with 1/25 in 4 overs. Lungi Ngidi picked up the other wicket and ended with 1/30 in 4 overs. Mitchell Starc went for 60 runs in the three overs of power play by Samson and the rest of the bowlers. Kuldeep Yadav gave away 34 runs in 3 overs, while Stubbs scored 39 runs in 3 overs. So, CSK thrashes Delhi by 8 wickets to climb to 6th in the points table. Punjab stay where they are.
What Lies Ahead
So, CSK next faces LSG later on in the week. DC faces KKR on Friday night in New Delhi. CSK are now in 6th ahead of DC, who are in 7th place. Tomorrow night, we will have SRH hosting PBKS in Hyderabad. Things are heating up in IPL 2026, and any slip-up can be detrimental for the sides to go forward in this tournament.
Also Read: DC vs CSK: Sameer Rizvi’s Impactful Knock Takes DC To Competitive 155/7