The wait is over and it ended in the most emphatic way possible. Sanju Samson, whose transition into Chennai Super Kings colours had been clouded by three successive single-digit scores in IPL 2026, answered every question, silenced every critic, and announced his CSK arrival in the most definitive terms imaginable on Saturday evening. His 115 not out off 56 deliveries against Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium his first century in yellow, his fourth IPL hundred overall was not just a knock. It was a statement.
Delhi Capitals had won the toss and elected to field, presenting CSK with the challenge of setting a total on a surface that offered early movement to the pace bowlers. Ruturaj Gaikwad fell cheaply for 15 off 18 balls, putting Samson in a position where he had to anchor the innings while also keeping the run rate moving. He responded by batting in a way that left Chepauk breathless.
Sanju’s runs came at a strike rate of over 200. A 26-ball fifty was followed by a century in 52 deliveries15 fours and three sixes carving through a DC bowling attack that included Mukesh Kumar, T. Natarajan, Kuldeep Yadav, and Lungi Ngidi. At one point in the middle of the innings, a minor back issue required the physios to come onto the field an anxiety-inducing moment given that a back complaint had ended his IPL 2025 season prematurely against the same opposition. But Samson shrugged it off and returned to bat with undiminished ferocity. He formed a century stand with Ayush Mhatre, who contributed 45 off 19 balls before retiring hurt to allow CSK’s middle order in. By the time the innings closed, Samson remained unbeaten on 115 and CSK had posted 212/2 a total that put them firmly in contention for their first win of the season. Sanju’s 100 is the 11th century of Chennai Super Kings and 8th CSK player to score a 100 in IPL. Sanju joins the list of Hussey, Vijay, Raina, McCullum, Watson, Rayudu and Ruturaj to score a century for CSK.
The century also delivered a clutch of historical footnotes. Samson became the first batter to score IPL centuries for three different franchises having previously hit hundreds for Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) in 2017 and for Rajasthan Royals twice in 2019 and 2021. He joins an exclusive group of players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli among them with four IPL centuries to their names. With this knock, he now has joint-fifth most IPL hundreds. His century was also the first triple-figure score of IPL 2026, and his three sixes in the innings took him past 400 sixes in T20 cricket placing him fourth among Indian batters on that list.
That Samson struck this blow against Delhi Capitals carries a certain poetic weight. It was a DC pace attack that had put paid to his IPL 2025 campaign with a serious back injury, effectively ending his season. On Saturday, there was no looking back.
His four IPL centuries in full:
1.102 (63) vs Rising Pune Supergiant, Pune, 2017
2. 102* (55) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Hyderabad, 2019
3.119 (63) vs Punjab Kings, Wankhede, 2021
4.102* (52) vs Delhi Capitals, Chennai, 2026.
–Samuthiran
