Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson continued his strong run for Chennai Super Kings, scoring an unbeaten 87 to guide his side to an eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026. After the win, Samson said his success this season has come from staying calm and sticking to the basics.
“They’re calling me Chetta, but I like Sanju more. You try to see what works well, stick to the basics, and trust your hands to do the rest. I just stuck to the process, and it’s working out well.
“I’ve been doing it for the last 3-5 years, it’s a tactical bit as well, I move around a bit according to the bowlers. I’m always like this. The biggest change is you’re seeing more of me, but I’m always calm,” Samson said after being named Player of the Match.
Samson’s knock ensured CSK were always in control as they chased down 156 with 15 balls remaining. He also put together an unbeaten 114-run partnership with youngster Kartik Sharma. Samson said he read the pitch early and trusted his ability in the middle overs.
“Looking at what we were chasing and how the wicket was behaving, even if we were 30 or 35 for 1 in the batting powerplay, looking at the shots I can play in the middle overs and against the spinners, I was confident about scoring runs.
On missing out on a century, Samson, who had earlier scored an unbeaten hundred against DC this season at Chepauk, said, “Hundreds are always special. There was a desire, but I had to be a bit too selfish to get it. My partner was playing well and winning the game gave me more confidence and happiness. A few more matches to come, let’s see if it comes around.”
Kartik, who remained not out on 41, said Samson’s guidance helped him adjust to a tricky surface. “Yes, it was fun. We had a good partnership for a long time. It was helping the spinners – the ball was stopping and turning a lot.
“I knew it was not a big score, and we could take our time, which we did. (Sanju) bhaiya said that it was a slow wicket and told me to do what comes to me, which I did. There was no such target. Just play in a good range and hit the ball. Play the ball, that’s all,” he said.
Hussey credits Sanju’s calmness and maturity
CSK batting coach Michael Hussey believes that Samson’s calmness and match awareness played a key role in helping youngster Kartik settle during the chase, as the pair stitched together a match-winning partnership at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here.
Praising the youngster’s temperament and skill, Hussey also highlighted the importance of having an experienced batter like Samson at the other end to guide the 20-year-old through the chase.
“I think it’s really important for someone like Sanju with all his experience to be out there in the middle with a young player like Kartik, who’s still learning his craft, really, just to keep him calm, talk him through the situation. But I thought Kartik showed a lot of maturity as well. He didn’t panic when he was going at about a run a ball,” Hussey said.
“It could have been easy to think I need to hit a few sixes here, but that’s one of his real strengths. He’s got good game sense and good batsmanship skills as well as some good power. And I truly believe that there’s still a place in the modern game for guys that have good craft and be able to play the situation well, assess the conditions well, not just have power to be able to blast the ball out of the park,” he added.