Chennai Super Kings’ Sanju Samson (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
Sanju Samson roared back to form with a stunning century for Chennai Super Kings against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026, marking a decisive return to rhythm after a slow start to his new franchise career. After being traded from Rajasthan Royals to CSK, Samson had endured a difficult beginning to the season, failing to reach double figures in his first three outings.
But in his fourth match, he produced a statement knock that reminded everyone of his class and consistency. Walking in after the early loss of Ruturaj Gaikwad in the powerplay, Samson anchored the innings brilliantly and stitched a crucial 113-run partnership with young Ayush Mhatre, who made 59 before being retired out as CSK pushed for acceleration. Samson batted with fluency and control throughout, surviving a reprieve on 52 before making DC pay in style.
He brought up a superb century, his fourth in the IPL, and paced his innings with authority against both pace and spin. Coming into the season after a standout campaign that saw him win Player of the Tournament honours in the T20 World Cup, expectations were high, and Samson finally delivered on them with a commanding knock. The milestone also saw him reach 400 sixes in T20 cricket, becoming only the fourth Indian to achieve the feat after
Rohit Sharma
,
Virat Kohli
, and Suryakumar Yadav.
Samson’s IPL centuries now read: 102 vs RPS (Pune, 2017), 102* vs SRH (Hyderabad, 2019), 119 vs PBKS (Wankhede, 2021), and 102* vs DC (Chennai, 2026). This innings also marked only the second IPL century by a CSK batter against Delhi Capitals, after Murali Vijay’s 113 in 2012.
