Sanju Samson Virat Kohli and KL Rahul joined the elite list after his match-winning innings of 87* against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.Samson is playing in IPL 2026 after a historic Rs 18 crore trade from Rajasthan Royals. Chennai Super Kings. He is currently among the top five run-scorers in the tournament and is a strong contender for the Orange Cap, having scored 402 runs in 10 matches at an average of 57.42.
In Tuesday’s match against Delhi Capitals, Samson scored an unbeaten 87 off 52 balls to win the Player of the Match award. He made history by becoming the first batsman to get two 100-plus partnerships against Delhi Capitals in the same IPL season. Earlier this season, Samson scored his maiden century of the campaign, an unbeaten 115 against Delhi Capitals in Chennai. The innings took his total against DC to 202 this season, making it the third-highest total by a batsman against a single opponent in an IPL edition.Only Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are ahead of him in the list. Kohli scored 209 runs against the Gujarat Lions during IPL 2016, including two centuries, making his season record-breaking 973 runs in 16 innings. KL Rahul is second in IPL 2022 with 206 runs against Mumbai Indians while representing Lucknow Supergiants, having scored two centuries against MI in the same season.Here are the top five highest totals by a batsman against a single opponent in this edition of IPL:
- 209 – Virat Kohli vs GL in 2016 (100* and 109)
- 206 – KL Rahul vs MI in 2022 (103* & 103*)
- 202 – Sanju Samson vs DC at 2026 (115* and 87*)
- 196 – Chris Gayle vs PWI in 2013 (175* and 21)
- 193 – KL Rahul vs RCB in 2020 (132* and 61*)
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.
