IPL 2026: CSK ride on Samson’s unbeaten 87, bowlers’ impressive show, beat DC by eight wickets

New Delhi: A crowd of 32,160 turned up for the Delhi Capitals‑Chennai Super Kings clash in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, but the Arun Jaitley Stadium felt like a fortress painted yellow. The chants of “CSK, CSK” rolled across the stands as Sanju Samson delivered a knock worthy of that backdrop – a commanding 87 not out off 52 balls, blending timing and power impressively to steer CSK to a big eight‑wicket win with 15 balls to spare.

The victory keeps the five‑time champions in sixth place, but crucially just two points adrift of the crowded playoff zone. On a sticky pitch offering grip and turn, Akeal Hosein (1‑19) and Noor Ahmad (2‑22) set the tone to restrict DC to 155/7. Samson then unfurled strokes of authority by hitting seven fours and six maximums to take CSK home.

What stood out was not just Samson’s authority on pitch easing out, but also the way he played sensibly and took the chase deep in a classic CSK style. He also shared an unbroken 114-run stand off 66 balls with Kartik Sharma, who hit an impressive 41 not out off 31 balls, to keep DC’s bowlers under pressure and pick two crucial points for CSK and spread happiness in the sea of yellow jerseys in the stands.

CSK began their chase of 156 with patience, as Samson exquisitely lofted Axar Patel for six, while Ruturaj Gaikwad was lucky to have an outside edge off Mitchell Starc to get a four. DC brought in their big guns – Axar, Mitchell Starc, and Lungi Ngidi – quickly in a bid to get wickets, but didn’t get any breakthrough. The breakthrough eventually came in the fourth over when a struggling Gaikwad flicked to deep square leg off Ngidi.

Boundaries were scarce until Urvil Patel lit up the innings with two towering sixes off Ngidi before closing Power-play at 44/1. But Urvil’s aggression was ended by Axar, who got one to grip and turn, which the batter missed and was stumped swiftly by KL Rahul.

With Kartik Sharma joining Samson, CSK’s chase began to move into calmer waters, as signs emerged of the pitch easing. After Kartik pulled Axar for four, Samson whacked a poor short ball from Kuldeep Yadav for six. When T Natarajan came in, Samson used his wrists and feet well to club him for fours over long-off and extra cover.

After Kartik lofted Kuldeep inside out over deep extra cover for six, Samson unleashed carnage on him – a floaty leg‑break launched high to the second tier at long‑on and then pulling a short ball disdainfully over deep midwicket. With pressure mounting, Kuldeep went flatter and quicker down leg, only for Samson to paddle him fine for four.

By the time Samson pushed a flighted ball to long‑off, he raised his fifty off 32 balls, as the crowd buzzed with chants of ‘CSK, CSK’. Starc’s return brought no respite as Samson leaned into a drive on an overpitched ball and then threw his bat in the channel outside off-stump to beat backward point and pick consecutive boundaries.

Samson’s surge continued as he dismantled Natarajan’s variations with a mix of timing and brute force. On the short ball, Samson rocked back to cleanly pull over square leg for six, before lofting a slower ball over long-off for six and swiping hard through mid-wicket for four.

The crowd was left in awe when Samson nailed the cover drive off Ngidi for four, while Kartik brought out paddle and drive to get his boundaries. The duo then knocked off the remaining runs easily to give CSK another clinical victory.

Previously, opting to bat first on a two-paced pitch, DC slipped into trouble as CSK’s spinners got the ball to turn and grip while the pacers hit hard lengths. Reeling at 69/5, Tristan Stubbs held one end to hit a 31-ball 38 while impact player Sameer Rizvi counter‑attacked with sweeps and pulls to hit an unbeaten 40 off 24 balls.

The pair added 65 runs off 47 balls for the sixth wicket to lift DC to a fighting total. DC’s innings began with promise but soon became a familiar tale of collapse and recovery. Pathum Nissanka swept Hosein’s first ball for four, before chopping past backward point for another boundary.

Though Hosein found some turn and even made a loud lbw appeal in the first over, KL Rahul found the fence with a creamy extra cover drive, before cutting Hosein for another boundary. But Mukesh Choudhary’s change of pace undid Nissanka, as he pulled to mid-on sans footwork. The power-play was patchy for DC as Hosein got one to grip and beat an advancing Rahul in flight, as he sliced to cover, and DC ended power-play at 37/2.

Karun Nair briefly counter-attacked, but swept straight to short fine leg off Noor. One brought two for CSK as Rana swept to backward square leg off the wrist-spinner. Axar Patel’s lean run continued when he mistimed a back‑foot drive to cover. At 69/5 in 11 overs, DC were staring at another sub‑par total till Stubbs and Rizvi came into the picture.

Dropped early on by Noor off Gurjapneet, Stubbs seized the reprieve by pulling and lofting the pacer for a brace of sixes. Rizvi immediately found rhythm – a premeditated pull off Mukesh went for six, followed by inventive sweeps off an expensive Anshul Kamboj.

Just as the partnership revived DC, Stubbs pulled too high off Overton and was caught at deep backward square. With Kamboj not nailing his lengths, Ashutosh Sharma took two sixes off him before being run out. Rizvi ensured DC went past 150 with a lofted drive over long-off, as 58 runs came off the last five overs, which was always inadequate to stop a marauding Samson.

Brief scores:

Delhi Capitals 155/7 in 20 overs (Sameer Rizvi 40 not out, Tristan Stubbs 38; Noor Ahmad 2-22, Jamie Overton 1-5) lost to Chennai Super Kings 159/2 in 17.3 overs (Sanju Samson 87 not out, Kartik Sharma 41 not out; Axar Patel 1-25, Lungi Ngidi 1-30) by eight wickets

IANS