IPL 2026: Sanju Samson shines as all-round CSK hammer DC
What's the story
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by eight wickets in their latest 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) clash. The match took place at New Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday. CSK chased down a target of 156 runs with ease, crossing the line in just 17.3 overs. Sanju Samson was the star of the match, scoring an impressive 87 runs to guide his team to victory. Here are the key stats.
DC innings
Rock start for DC
Delhi Capitals, batting first, were off to a poor start as they could only manage 37 runs in the powerplay, while losing both their openers. The tale of falling wickets continued, which reduced the hosts to 69/5. Despite the collapse, Tristan Stubbs (38) and impact player Sameer Rizvi (40*) put up a resilient stand of 65 runs. DC ended with an underwhelming total of 155/7. Notably, no other DC batter besides this duo could even touch the 20-run mark.
Chase
Samson powers the run chase
In their chase, CSK lost skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (6) early. Urvil Patel chipped in with a quickfire 17 off nine deliveries before being dismissed. However, Samson and Kartik Sharma steadied the innings with an impressive 114-run partnership that took CSK past the finish line with 15 balls and eight wickets to spare. While the former made 87*, Kartik also played a crucial role in the chase, scoring an unbeaten 41 runs.
Axar
Axar Patel averages 5.50 with bat this season
Axar Patel was dismissed for just two off six balls in the game. He has managed to score just 33 runs across seven innings, at an average of just 5.50 per match, as per ESPNcricinfo. Axar's average of 5.5 is the lowest among all players who have batted at least seven times in IPL 2026, irrespective of the position. The southpaw has a paltry strike rate in this regard (89.18).
Stats
Key numbers for Stubbs, Rizvi
Rizvi smoked four sixes en route to his 24-ball 40. This knock took his IPL 2026 tally to 249 runs from eight innings at 41.50. This includes two fifties and a strike rate of 151.82. Overall, he now owns 421 IPL runs at 32.38. Meanwhile, Stubbs's 31-ball 38 was laced with two sixes and a four. He has raced to 251 runs this season at 51.40 (SR: 136.70, 50s: 2). Overall, he has completed 962 IPL runs at 43.72.
Bowlers
How did the bowlers fare?
CSK spinner Noor Ahmad was the only bowler in the game to take multiple wickets. He finished with 2/22 from three overs. Akeal Hosein (1/19), Gurjapneet Singh (1/29), and Mukesh Choudhary (1/31) struck once in their respective four-over spells. Jamie Overton bowled one over, claiming 1/5. For DC, skipper Axar (1/25 from four overs) and Lungi Ngidi (1/30 from four overs) were the only wicket-takers.
Samson
Third 80-plus score of season for Samson
Samson scored 87* off just 52 balls, hitting seven fours and six sixes along the way. This was his third 80-plus score of the season, as he has also tallied two hundreds. His IPL 2026 tally now reads 402 runs from 10 games at 57.42 (SR: 167.50). Overall, he has completed 5,106 runs across 187 IPL matches at 32.11. This was his 27th fifty (100s: 5). 620 of his runs have come against DC at 44.28 (50s: 3, 100: 1).
Feat
Third batter with this feat
Samson made an unbeaten 115 in the earlier CSK-DC game this season. With this, he became just the third batter to aggregate 200-plus runs (202) against an opponent in the league stage of an IPL edition. He has joined Virat Kohli (209 vs Gujarat Lions in 2016) and KL Rahul (206 vs Mumbai Indians in 2022). Meanwhile, Samson now owns 8,802 runs in T20s from 340 matches at 31.1. This was his 55th T20 fifty (100s: 5).
Information
Another fine hand from Kartik
Kartik's unbeaten 41 off 31 balls was studded with four fours and two sixes. Playing in his maiden IPL campaign, the 20-year-old youngster has raced to 157 runs from seven games at 30.60 (SR: 127.49). Kartik's maiden IPL fifty came in his last outing, against Mumbai Indians. He had made an unbeaten 54 off 40 balls.
Information
What are the changes in the points table?
After losing each of their first three games this season, CSK have won five of their next seven clashes. They are now placed sixth with a Net Run Rate of +0.151. Meanwhile, DC are placed seventh with four wins from 10 games (NRR: -0.949). They have now lost four of their last five games.