Last night was a joyous occasion for the Yellow Army as the Chennai Super Kings won their first match of IPL 2026 after three consecutive losses. The win came against the Delhi Capitals who had been undefeated in the tournament till now.
Sanju Samson scored his first century of IPL against the Capitals at CSK’s home ground in MA Chidambaram Stadium last night. The most awaited century came in a crucial innings where CSK were batting in the first innings.
In the post match conference, Sanju dedicated his century to the CSK head coach, Stephen Fleming stated that he understood the mental challenges of leading a franchise for years, having captained a team himself for five seasons.The dedication came at a time when Fleming himself was under pressure after CSK lost their first three games of the season.
“I think I know that how hard it can get. I think leading a franchise from last five years, I know that how mentally challenging it can be. So I think I just wanted to dedicate this to our coach Fleming”, the player stated.
Sanju Samson gets his breakthrough after a rough patch
Since his performance at the T20 World Cup, Samson had been struggling to score runs. He had scored just 22 runs in the last three innings.Samson admitted that despite his international form, these consecutive failures caused "a lot of doubts" to creep into his mind. His struggles mirrored the team's performance, as CSK had lost all three of those opening matches.
Having been traded to Chennai Super Kings (CSK) from Rajasthan Royals for a high value, Samson felt an added responsibility to prove his worth early in the season.
Samson eventually broke this streak on Saturday, April 11, with an unbeaten 115 off 56 balls, which he attributed to "going back to basics" and focusing on his natural scoring patterns. Upon reaching his hundred, Samson performed a "Rajinikanth-style" salute (specifically from the movie Padayappa) while facing the CSK dugout, where Fleming was seated.
