Chennai, April 12 – Sanju Samson’s stunning unbeaten innings of 115 and Jamie Overton’s efficient 4-18 helped Chennai Super Kings secure a commanding 23-run victory over Delhi Capitals, giving them their first win of the 2026 IPL season at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.
Samson, the star of India's 2026 Men's T20 World Cup triumph, delivered a brilliant performance, scoring 115 off 56 balls with 15 fours and four sixes, at a strike rate of 205.36, as CSK posted a massive 212/2.
With this, Samson became the first CSK wicketkeeper-batter to score an IPL century, and he joined KL Rahul as one of the only players to have scored a century for three different IPL franchises. He also shared a 113-run stand with young batsman Ayush Mhatre, who scored 59 off 36 balls.
Despite the challenging target, Delhi Capitals began their chase strongly, with Pathum Nissanka and KL Rahul scoring 50 runs in the fourth over. However, CSK quickly turned the tables, dismissing three DC batsmen in three overs. Overton took 4-18, which was the best figures of the season so far, and effectively stifled the DC middle order, while CSK’s fielders were also very sharp.
Tristan Stubbs provided some resistance for Delhi with a fighting 60 off 38 balls, including four fours and three sixes, but the increasing pressure proved too much. Overton received support from debutant Gurjapneet Singh and Anshul Kamboj, who took 3-35, as DC were eventually dismissed for 189 in 20 overs.
This result ended CSK's six-game losing streak at Chepauk and gave them their first points of the tournament. Batting first, Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad added 61 runs in the Powerplay. Samson started strongly, driving, cutting, and chipping with authority, while Gaikwad scored 15 runs in 7 balls before being dismissed by Axar Patel in the seventh over.
Mhatre joined Samson, and the duo continued to score boundaries and capitalize on DC’s sloppy fielding. Mhatre, who had two reprieves, was then dismissed in the 18th over after a brief slowdown, a strategic move that brought Shivam Dube to the crease.
Samson, who had been dropped on 52, reached the century mark with a flick off T Natarajan and celebrated with a style reminiscent of Padayappa, drawing cheers from the Chepauk crowd. Dube then helped CSK maintain momentum by scoring 20 runs in 10 balls, with two fours and a six in the final two overs, allowing CSK to cross the 210-mark.
Chasing 213, Delhi started well as Nissanka and Rahul scored 16 runs off Khaleel Ahmed in the second over and reached 50 in the fourth over. Nissanka scored 41 runs with five fours and two sixes, while Rahul scored 26 runs with two boundaries and a six before mis-timing a pull off Khaleel.
At 61/1 after five overs, DC appeared in a good position, but CSK had other plans. Kamboj dismissed Nissanka in the next over, with Dewald Brevis holding onto the catch at mid-on. Gurjapneet then made his IPL debut by dismissing Axar Patel on the first ball, with Sarfaraz Khan taking the catch at backward point.
Sameer Rizvi briefly resisted, but was dismissed by Overton after pulling a straight shot to Brevis at deep square leg. David Miller and Tristan Stubbs attempted to rebuild DC's chase by scoring runs off Noor Ahmad and Khaleel. The duo added 45 runs before Overton dismissed Miller with a pacy delivery.
Ashutosh Sharma then contributed 19 runs in 10 balls, including two sixes, briefly giving CSK some concern, but Noor managed to get him out with a well-timed drive that was caught by Kamboj at sweeper cover. Auqib Nabi followed soon after, being caught by Akeal Hosein at extra cover off Overton.
Stubbs, meanwhile, continued to play well and scored 50 runs in 30 balls with the help of two boundaries off Gurjapneet. However, the asking rate kept increasing. Stubbs was eventually dismissed when he mis-hit a shot to Noor at mid-off in the 19th over, effectively sealing the victory for CSK. Kamboj then dismissed Kuldeep Yadav and Lungi Ngidi to close out the game in CSK’s favor.
Brief scores:
Chennai Super Kings 212/2 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 115 not out, Ayush Mhatre 59; Axar Patel 1-39) beat Delhi Capitals 189 all out in 20 overs (Tristan Stubbs 60, Pathum Nissanka 41; Jamie Overton 4-18, Anshul Kamboj 3-35) by 23 runs