Since his blockbuster trade to Chennai Super Kings, Sanju Samson has struggled to live up to his potential in the ongoing IPL 2026. The keeper-batter dominated the proceedings in the T20 World Cup, winning the Player of the Tournament, but in the IPL, he has failed to touch even the two-figure mark in the first two games of the season. Against Punjab Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Samson made just seven runs off seven balls before Xavier Bartlett got the better of him in the middle.
His opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad too struggled to keep the scoreboard ticking. The 29-year-old made 28 runs off 22 balls and played the role of a second fiddle as Ayush Mhatre dictated the play in Chennai. The youngster went hammer and tonk, scoring 73 runs off 43 balls to set the middle order batters to capitalise and post a healthy total on the board.
However, the CSK openers' struggle to get going is not something that can be overlooked. Historically, Gaikwad hasn’t done well with the bat as captain and that is one area that the team management needs to address. When it comes to Samson, he was dropped from the India playing XI before the Kerala batter made his return and won the World Cup for India. Now, dropping him may not be the right solution, but CSK management needs to give him plenty of confidence and if required, may bat him at number three.
Punjab bounce back
Vijaykumar Vyshak picked up the prized wicket of Mhatre. On the other hand, Yuzvendra Chahal bowled a fine spell, during which the leg-spinner got the better of Gaikwad. Meanwhile, soon after Mhatre departed, CSK were put on the backfoot as two new batters arrived at the crease. PBKS were successful in putting the pressure on CSK and it resulted in the wicket of Kartik Sharma, who departed for just one run. Punjab will hope to keep up with the momentum now.
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