Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) Opener Sanju Samson hammered a brilliant unbeaten century, his second of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) posted 207/6 in 20 overs against Mumbai Indians (MI) at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.

After being asked to bat first, CSK got off to a strong start. Samson and captain Ruturaj Gaikwad attacked from the beginning, scoring 26 runs in the first two overs, including 19 runs off Hardik Pandya’s second over.

Mumbai got their first breakthrough in the third over when Gaikwad was dismissed for 22 off 14 balls. Despite losing a wicket, Samson kept the momentum going and again took on Pandya, collecting 19 runs in the fourth over bowled by the Mumbai Indians skipper as CSK crossed the 50-run mark quickly.

Sarfaraz Khan played a few attacking shots but was bowled by Mitchell Santner for 14 off 8 balls in the last over of the Power-play. CSK ended the first six overs at 73/2.

After the fielding restrictions were lifted, the Mumbai Indians struck again as AM Ghazanfar bowled Shivam Dube with a clever carrom ball. Dewald Brevis then struck some runs, hitting two sixes and a four before getting out for 21 off 11 balls to Ashwani Kumar.

At the other end, Samson continued to bat with confidence and reached his fifty in just 26 balls. He held the innings together even as wickets kept falling.

Young batter Kartik tried to accelerate in the middle overs with a couple of sixes but struggled later and was dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah for 18 off 19 balls. Jamie Overton provided a late boost with a quick 15 off 7 balls.

In the final overs, Samson dominated the bowling and brought up his century in style, reaching the milestone in 54 balls with a six. He remained unbeaten on 101, hitting 10 fours and 6 sixes, helping CSK cross the 200-run mark.

For the Mumbai Indians, Ghazanfar was the pick of the bowlers with 2/25, while Ashwani Kumar also picked up two wickets.

Brief scores:

Chennai Super Kings 207/6 in 20 overs (Sanju Samson 101*, Ruturaj Gaikwad 22; AM Ghazanfar 2-25, Ashwani Kumar 2-37) against Mumbai Indians

–IANS

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