Sanju Samson put up a batting masterclass, while Kartik Sharma played another strong knock as Chennai Super Kings defeated the Delhi Capitals in the 48th match of the Indian Premier League 2026 on Tuesday, May 5. The Super Kings chased down a middling 156-run target at a tacky Arun Jaitley Stadium to register their fifth win of the tournament, which also boosts their playoff chances.
Samson (87 from 52) and Kartik (41 from 31) forged an unbeaten stand of 114 for the third wicket after DC inflicted a couple of early blows to the CSK side. The two took their time, stabilised things, but kept the scoreboard ticking. In between, Samson took down the bowlers with two match-changing overs that helped CSK gun this target down in 17.3 overs with eight wickets in hand.
Samson takes Kuldeep down before smashing Natarajan
CSK were at 78/2 at the end of the 11th over, going at just over 7 runs an over. They needed 78 more from the next 54 balls, and Samson took on Kuldeep Yadav with aplomb. He smashed him for back-to-back sixes over long-on and deep mid-wicket before paddling one for a four in an 18-run over in which he also got to his fifty.
The other big one was the 15th, when Samson took 20 from Natarajan's second over. He smashed one over deep square leg before another maximum over long-off and a four on the on-side to punish Natarajan. This brought the equation down to 30 needed from 30 balls.
Kartik finishes it off
Kartik was doing good work yet again in the support role after his fifty in the win against the Mumbai Indians. He played a strong second fiddle in keeping the scoreboard ticking with a couple of beautiful boundaries early. The wicketkeeper then unleashed himself more in the death overs, hitting three fours and a six to take CSK home with 15 balls to spare.
Delhi Capitals put up underwhelming 155
Delhi Capitals struggled on what was a tacky pitch, with CSK spinners doing a good job. DC's slide began early with the dismissal of opener Pathum Nissanka, who failed to clear mid-on off a slower delivery from left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary. Both Nissanka (19 off 15) and KL Rahul (12 off 13) struck a few crisp boundaries but couldn’t convert their starts. Rahul soon followed, miscuing an inside-out attempt against left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and was caught by captain Ruturaj Gaikwad.
DC crawled to 37 for two in the power play, with Hosein bowling half the overs, including one that accounted for Rahul. With no momentum in the innings, the crowd—largely backing CSK and M S Dhoni, who wasn’t even present—added to the pressure, with chants of “CSK, CSK” echoing through the stadium. The lacklustre display hinted that DC were still haunted by their previous collapse to 75 all out at the venue.
After the power play, Noor Ahmad tightened the screws further, removing Karun Nair and Nitish Rana, both undone by poorly executed sweep shots. Axar Patel had a chance to steady things but fell cheaply, offering a simple catch in the covers off Gurjapneet Singh, leaving DC struggling at 69 for five in 11 overs.
A late 65-run stand between Tristan Stubbs (38 off 31) and impact player Sameer Rizvi (40* off 24) provided some resistance with a flurry of sixes, but the early damage proved too much to recover from as DC finished with a below-par total.
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