Delhi Capitals (DC) lost the match against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) by 8 wickets with 15 balls remaining. It was a double defeat against the Men in Yellow this season. The mid-table clash was a low-scoring one as Sanju Samson played a match-winning inning of 87* off 52 balls on a difficult wicket.
Delhi Capitals could not maintain their winning streak in this match as they lost another match due to batting failure. He was exposed while batting first in the game against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), where he was bowled out for 75 runs. Both sides needed to win this game to keep the playoff equation simple.
DC batsmen had to struggle against CSK spinners
DC openers Pathum Nissanka and KL Rahul got off to a good start with the CSK bowlers bowling brilliantly inside the power play. As a result, the batsmen could not hold the charge and their collapse continued and both were out for 19 and 12 runs respectively. Within 70 runs, half the team had returned to the pavilion.
Then Tristan Stubbs and Samir Rizvi, who were used as impact subs, combined with the South African batsman to put up an excellent partnership of 65 runs for the 6th wicket. Both of them scored 38 and 40 runs respectively and took the score beyond 150 runs.
Ashutosh Sharma’s short, impressive innings of 14 runs in 5 balls helped the home team finish with a score of 155/7 in 20 overs. CSK spin pair of Akeel Hosein and Noor Ahmed performed brilliantly and took three wickets.
Sanju Samson shines against Delhi
While chasing, CSK openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson gave a similar start to the DC batsmen. Captain Gaikwad was out on a low score of 6 runs after scoring two consecutive half-centuries. Then Urvil Patel was out on the bowling of Akshar Patel after scoring 17 runs on 9 balls.
Sanju Samson stuck to one end and kept scoring runs on a slightly difficult pitch. He scored a brilliant half-century in 32 balls, and then he continued his innings and scored 87* off 52 balls, and Karthik Sharma also remained unbeaten on 38* as the Yellow team chased down the target with 15 balls to spare.
I like Sanju more – Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson played another match-winning innings for CSK and won the Player of the Match award. The last time these two teams met at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Sanju Samson was the POTM, where Sanju scored a brilliant century and remained unbeaten on the score of 115*.
Sanju Samson said, “They are calling me Chetta, but I like Sanju more. You try to see what works well, stick to the basics and trust your hands to do better. I just stick to the process and it is working well. I have been doing it for the last 3-5 years, it is also a tactical bit, I move a bit according to the bowlers.”
“I’ve always been like that, the biggest change is that you are watching me more, but I always remain calm. Looking at what we were chasing and how the wicket was behaving, even if the batting PP was 30 or 35 for 1, looking at the shots I can play in the middle overs and against the spinners, I was confident about scoring runs. Centuries are always special.”
Sanju Samson concluded, “The desire was there, but I had to be a little selfish to get it, my partner was playing well and winning games gives you more confidence and happiness. There are still a few more matches left, let’s see if that happens.”
Also read: “Grateful to have Sanju”: Ruturaj Gaikwad lauds Sanju Samson’s match-winning innings against DC