Sanju Samson produced one of the greatest performances in IPL history when he played against the Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium this past week by scoring an outstanding unbeaten 115 from 56 balls and becoming the first-ever wicketkeeper-batter in ICC history to create a hundred for the CSK IPL team.
His incredible hitting enabled the team to set a target of 212 runs, an impressive achievement considering they had been struggling so far in the season.
A Record That Stood Since 2019 Finally Falls
Samson reached his century in 52 balls, breaking MS Dhoni’s record for the highest score by a designated wicketkeeper for CSK in an IPL match. Dhoni’s previous best was 84 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2019.
The record had remained untouched for seven years. Dhoni, who defined the wicketkeeper-batter role at CSK throughout his career, never converted his innings into a three-figure score while keeping wickets for the franchise. Samson, playing his first IPL season for Chennai after joining via a trade from Rajasthan Royals ahead of IPL 2026, surpassed that mark in his fourth appearance for the team.
How the Innings Unfolded
DC captain Axar Patel won the toss and opted to field first. CSK lost their opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad, cheaply for 15 runs, but Samson took on the DC bowling attack and helped the team reach 61 runs in the powerplay.
Samson scored 84 runs in 39 balls at a strike rate of 215.4 with 11 fours and three sixes against pacers, and 31 runs in 17 balls against spin, demonstrating consistent dominance across both disciplines.
Slowly getting to that total of a huge 212 for two at the end of 20 overs was possible thanks in part to a massive innings of 59 off 36 balls from Ayush Mhatre and some big hitting from Samson. In response to this score, CSK did an excellent job at keeping DC under control and winning the game by 23 runs.
Joining KL Rahul in an Exclusive IPL Club
Samson made history as the second batter in IPL history to score centuries for three different franchises, joining KL Rahul in this unique list. Rahul had scored centuries for Punjab Kings and Lucknow Super Giants before adding one for Delhi Capitals in the previous season.
Samson had previously registered one century for Delhi Capitals in 2017 and two for Rajasthan Royals. His latest effort is his fourth overall in the IPL.
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Sanju Samson’s Four IPL Centuries
| Season | Score | Against | Franchise |
| 2017 | 102 (63) | Rising Pune Supergiant | Delhi Capitals |
| 2019 | 102* (55) | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2021 | 119 (63) | Punjab Kings | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2026 | 115* (56) | Delhi Capitals | Chennai Super Kings |
A Response to Early Season Struggles
Samson struggled to find runs in the first three matches of IPL 2026, getting out for single-digit scores in each game and facing criticism of his batting since signing with CSK. His century against the Delhi Capitals was a definitive response to that pressure.
It was the fourth time that Samson registered the first hundred of an IPL season, having previously accomplished this in 2017, 2019, and 2021. He was also the fourth Indian to reach the milestone of 400 sixes in T20 cricket after Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav.
The performance not only brought CSK their first victory in IPL 2026 but also dramatically changed how the team was viewed for the rest of the season, solidifying Samson’s role as an important part of the CSK batting line-up.
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