Chennai Super Kings beat Delhi Capitals by eight wickets in Delhi on Tuesday as Sanju Samson struck an unbeaten 87. Ruturaj Gaikwad later called him the backbone of the batting unit.
Gaikwad said, “On the batting side, I would say, more than grateful to have Sanju in the side after the tournament he had even in the World Cup and even now. So, obviously, he’s a backbone now.”
Samson has crossed 80 three times this season. CSK have won every match where he has passed 40. His form follows a player-of-the-tournament run in India’s T20 World Cup win.
Samson said, “We actually try to find out what works really well for you, and you try to stick to the basics and you trust your hands to do the job in this format. So I think I’ve been trying to do that from the last two-three months. I’ve been working a bit on my initial movement and it has been coming off nicely.”
He added, “Yeah, I’ve been doing it from the last three to five years, so I think comfort definitely plays a huge role in your mindset and the confidence which you have to go in batting. And then definitely it’s a tactical move as well. So according to the bowlers and the wicket, I try to move around a bit.”
CSK controlled the game through clear phases. Akeal Hosein struck early on a slow pitch and kept both openers quiet. Mukesh Choudhary removed Pathum Nissanka with a pace-off ball. Noor Ahmad then hit the middle overs, taking key wickets to leave Delhi 69 for 5.
Sameer Rizvi and Tristan Stubbs rebuilt with a 65-run stand, pushing Delhi to 155. CSK paced the chase. Samson held one end, targeted Kuldeep Yadav and T Natarajan, and broke the game open.
CSK reached the target with 15 balls left. They now have 10 points and sit sixth, two points behind the teams from second to fifth. They face Lucknow Super Giants next in back-to-back games.
