Sanju Samson slammed his second IPL century in Chennai Super Kings colours in just his seventh match for the franchise on Thursday. That it came against Mumbai Indians in the IPL’s ‘El Clasico’ made the occasion even more special. Sanju Samson stayed unbeaten on 101 off 54 balls. He completed his fifth IPL century with an innings that included six sixes and 10 fours. With this knock, Samson became the first CSK batter to score a century against Mumbai Indians in the IPL. He is also the second CSK batter, after Shane Watson in the 2018 season, to score two centuries in a single season for the franchise. Samson’s 101 is also the highest individual score by a CSK batter against MI. This was the first century by a CSK player in an ‘El Clasico’ clash. Previously, Ruturaj Gaikwad‘s unbeaten 88 off 58 balls in 2021 was the highest score for CSK in this fixture. Sanath Jayasuriya (114* in 2008) and Rohit Sharma (105* in 2024) have scored centuries for MI against CSK.
Sanju Samson (101 not out) anchored a faltering Chennai Super Kings innings with his second century of the season, guiding the visitors to a competitive 207 for six against Mumbai Indians in their Indian Premier League clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
With wickets falling around him due to poor shot selection and a lack of application, the India wicketkeeper-batter held firm, pacing his innings to perfection and playing each delivery on merit to script yet another memorable knock.
Samson carried his bat with a fluent unbeaten 101, an innings studded with 10 fours and six maximums off just 54 balls. However, Chennai Super Kings, who looked set for a much bigger total at one stage, lost their way during the middle overs as none of the other batters converted their starts.
jasprit bumrah (1/31) began with a tight opening over, though Samson still managed to pierce the field with a crisp drive through cover point before flicking Hardik Pandya (0/38) off his pads for a six.
CSK had earlier made a bright start, with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (22) and Samson taking 19 runs each off Pandya’s first two overs in the powerplay. Despite losing a couple of early wickets, the visitors were well placed at 73 for two.
Gaikwad looked to be easing back into form, beginning with a heave on the onside off Pandya before pulling the pacer for a six to take 19 runs from the second over.
However, his promising start was cut short when he went inside-out against AM Ghazanfar (2/25) in the third over, only to be smartly caught by Tilak Varma running in from long-off.
There was also no happy homecoming for Mumbai players in the CSK camp, as Sarfaraz Khan (14) and Shivam Dubey (5) failed to make an impact.
Despite being struck for a couple of onside boundaries by Sarfaraz, Mitchell Santner responded by floating one up on the stumps, slightly shorter in length. As if premeditated, Sarfaraz went for his trademark sweep but was undone by the dip, with the ball crashing into his stumps.
Batting at No. 4, India all-rounder Shivam Dube had the licence to take on the spinners, but he was beaten by the drift generated by Ghazanfar in the ninth over, the ball sneaking past his inside edge and hitting the stumps.
Dewald Brevis struck a few powerful blows in his 11-ball 21 before falling to a well-directed short ball from Ashwani Kumar (2/37), forced to reach for it well outside the off stump.
Amid the collapse around him, Samson blended caution with aggression to keep the scoreboard ticking. In the final over, he capped his effort in style by smashing Krish Bhagat for a towering six over cover before pulling the last ball to bring up his sixth IPL hundred.
Meanwhile, CSK players took the field wearing black armbands in tribute to Mukesh Choudhary‘s mother, who recently passed away.
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