Sanju Samson spoiled the night for Delhi Capitals (DC). The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star keeper-batsman remained unbeaten on 87 off 52 and confirmed an important win for the team.
This was Delhi Capitals’ sixth defeat in the current Indian Premier League (IPL) season. In the last five matches, they faced four defeats, while only one win was confirmed. After the match, it was another tough moment for DC captain Axar Patel as he had to hold the mic to explain the match and he lost his grip against Chennai Super Kings at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
batting first was a wrong decision
The DC captain won the toss and chose to bat first, which might not have been the best decision for the team, as the surface was not easy to bat on at the start of the game. Delhi kept losing wickets at regular intervals and could add only 155 runs on the scoreboard.
Later the captain himself admitted that due to the pitch, the batsmen face difficulty in rotating the strike and saving wickets. In the second innings, CSK also lost a few early wickets in their run chase, but Sanju Samson was in the middle to confirm the win.
Notable statistics for Sanju Samson
Due to his unbeaten inning of 87 runs, he has become one of the best players in the IPL edition.
Highest score for a player vs opponent in IPL edition (league stage)
209 – Virat Kohli vs GL in 2016 (100* and 109)
206 – KL Rahul vs MI in 2022 (103* and 103*)
202 – Sanju Samson vs DC in 2026 (115* and 87*)
196 – Chris Gayle vs PWI in 2013 (175* & 21)
193 – KL Rahul vs RCB 2020 (132* & 61*)
Sanju Samson in IPL 2026
Win in: 5 innings, 362 runs, Avg: 181, SR: 178.32
Defeat: 5 innings, 40 runs, Avg: 8, SR: 108.1
Akshar Patel told why they lost against CSK
“Obviously, the way the wicket was playing in the first innings, I thought yes, 155 was a good score. But since we were playing with eight batsmen, I thought we were about 10-15 runs short. (On the pitch) I think it has got a little bit better, but I think the difference was made by the set batsman. When a batsman is set well, it looks like there is nothing in the pitch, but I still think it has There was something,” Axar Patel said after the match.
He said, “It was not easy for the new batsman coming in. Yes, it was not easy for the new players because, you know, the length balls were staying, sometimes staying down and sometimes even bouncing after being caught. So I think it was very difficult for the new batsmen. But when the set batsmen were playing, it seemed easy.”
Read More: DC Qualification Scenario IPL 2026: Can DC still reach the playoffs after the loss against CSK?
