Sanju Samson’s spectacular century propelled Chennai Super Kings to their inaugural victory of the IPL season, breaking a string of three consecutive losses, as they triumphed over Delhi Capitals by a margin of 23 runs on Saturday. The Indian T20 World Cup star, Samson, notched an unbeaten 115 runs, securing his first century for Chennai and guiding the team to a formidable total of 212-2 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
Despite a dropped catch when he was on 52, Samson entertained the crowd with an exceptional innings of 15 boundaries and four maximums off just 56 deliveries. England’s all-rounder, Jamie Overton, then shone with the ball, claiming four crucial wickets to dismantle Delhi’s chase after a promising start, restricting them to 189 all out.
Overton’s dismissals of Tristan Stubbs, who top-scored with 60, and David Miller were pivotal in Chennai’s victory. Samson, who was acquired from Rajasthan Royals before the season, redeemed himself with a stellar batting performance following his struggles in the previous matches.
Expressing his resilience, Samson reflected, “I failed a lot. Failing a lot tells you how to come back. Mentally, you think if you need to go hard or change the game-plan.” The highly anticipated IPL campaign for Samson began after his standout performances in India’s T20 World Cup triumph in March.
Samson established a crucial 113-run partnership for the second wicket with Ayush Mhatre, who retired on 59. The late surge in Chennai’s innings was fueled by Shivam Dube’s quickfire 20 off 10 balls, as he combined with Samson to strengthen the team’s total.
Delhi skipper Axar Patel acknowledged the batting-friendly conditions, stating, “It was a very good batting wicket. But as I said, if we hadn’t dropped one or two catches in the field, the result could have been different.” Pathum Nissanka’s 41 provided some resistance for Delhi, but the dismissals of key batsmen like Nissanka and KL Rahul halted their chase.
Despite efforts from Miller and Stubbs to revive Delhi’s innings, Overton’s persistent bowling prowess proved decisive. His crucial scalps of Sameer Rizvi, Miller, and Stubbs in the penultimate over dashed any hopes of a Delhi comeback, sealing the victory for Chennai.
