Sanju Samson delivered a sensational performance as Chennai Super Kings took on Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday night.
The Kerala wicketkeeper-batter lit up the contest with a stunning century, becoming the first CSK batter to score a hundred against MI in the Indian Premier League. Samson also etched his name in the record books by becoming only the second player, after Shane Watson, to register two centuries in a single IPL season for CSK.
Watson had previously achieved the feat during IPL 2018, smashing 106 against Rajasthan Royals before producing a match-winning unbeaten 117 in the final against Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Samson’s ton also placed him among an elite list of Indian batters to score multiple centuries in a single IPL season — a club first headlined by Virat Kohli, who famously scored four hundreds in IPL 2016, amassing a record 973 runs.
CSK got off to a brisk start in the powerplay, with skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad and Samson taking the attack to Hardik Pandya. Gaikwad looked promising before falling for 22, while Sarfaraz Khan and Shivam Dube got starts but failed to convert. Dewald Brevis chipped in with a quickfire 21, though CSK lost momentum in the middle overs.
Amid the slowdown, Samson stood firm, anchoring the innings with authority and timing his acceleration perfectly. He brought up his century in style, finishing with 10 boundaries and six towering sixes.
For MI, AM Ghazanfar and Ashwani Kumar picked up two wickets each, while Jasprit Bumrah kept things tight, conceding just 31 runs in his spell.
