CS captain Rituraj Gaikwad He has heaped praises. Sanju SamsonAfter an unbeaten innings of 87 runs, he shared a 114-run partnership with Karthik 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 trade from Rajasthan Royals. He is among the top five run-getters this season, scoring 402 runs at 57.42 in 10 consecutive matches in the Orange Cap run. In their match yesterday against Delhi Capitals, he scored an unbeaten 87 off 52 balls which earned him the man of the match award. He also made history and became the first batsman to be part of a double-hundred-plus partnership against Delhi Capitals in a single edition of the tournament.He scored his first century 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’s match-winning knock against Delhi Capitals, the CSK captain backed him as the backbone of the team.“Yes, of course. On the batting side, I would say, I mean, grateful to have Sanju in the team after the tournament that he was in the World Cup and still is. So obviously now he’s the backbone,” Rathoraj Gaikwad in the post-match conference.
CSK is alive in the playoff race.
Chennai Super Kings kept their playoff hopes alive in IPL 2026 with an emphatic eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. After Akil Hussain and Noor Ahmed’s disciplined bowling restricted DC to 155/7 on a slow pitch, CSK chased down the target comfortably in 173 overs.Despite some resistance from Sameer Rizvi and Tristan Stubbs, Delhi collapsed to 69/5 and never recovered. In reply, Sanju Samson scored an unbeaten 87 off 52 balls while Karthik Sharma supported him in an unbeaten partnership of 114 runs. The victory lifted CSK to fifth place in the standings, while DC edged closer to elimination.
