Sanju Samson scripts IPL history, breaks Chris Gayle’s 13-year-old record

Sanju Samson breaks Chris Gayle's 13-year IPL record as CSK beat DC in IPL 2026. Samson’s unbeaten 87 keeps play-off hopes alive. Read the full match report here.

New Delhi: The 48th match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, held at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, saw Chennai Super Kings (CSK) secure a comfortable victory over Delhi Capitals (DC). Chasing a target of 156, CSK reached the total for the loss of two wickets with 15 balls to spare. Sanju Samson played a match-winning unbeaten knock of 87 runs off 52 deliveries, featuring seven boundaries and six sixes, to keep CSK's play-off hopes alive. During this innings, Samson surpassed a 13-year-old record previously held by Chris Gayle.

Samson breaks Gayle’s record

This marks the second time in IPL 2026 that Sanju Samson has delivered a match-winning performance against Delhi Capitals, following his unbeaten 115 in their previous encounter. By accumulating 202 runs against DC in the league stage of this season, he broke Chris Gayle's record of 196 runs scored against Pune Warriors in 2013. Samson now sits third on the all-time list for the most runs scored by a player against a single opponent in a single league season, trailing Virat Kohli (209) and KL Rahul (206).

Highest total scores by a player against one team in a single IPL league stage:

Runs	Player	Opponent	Season	Scores
209	Virat Kohli	Gujarat Lions	2016	100* & 109
206	KL Rahul	Mumbai Indians	2022	103* & 103*
202	Sanju Samson	Delhi Capitals	2026	115 & 87**
196	Chris Gayle	Pune Warriors	2013	175* & 21
193	KL Rahul	RCB	2020	132* & 61*

Delhi falter after losing five wickets for 69

After winning the toss and electing to bat, Delhi Capitals posted 155 for 7. Openers Pathum Nissanka and KL Rahul (12) provided a steady start, adding 29 runs in four overs. However, after Nissanka was dismissed for 19 off 15 balls (including four boundaries), DC suffered a batting collapse, losing five wickets for just 69 runs. Tristan Stubbs then shared a 65-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Sameer Rizvi off 47 balls to guide the team to a respectable total.

Samson and Sharma anchor 114-run partnership

In response, Chennai Super Kings completed the chase in 17.3 overs. The team suffered an early setback when captain Ruturaj Gaikwad (6) fell in the fourth over, followed by Urvil Patel (1), who was stumped in the seventh over. With the score at 45 for 2, Sanju Samson joined Kartik Sharma to forge an unbeaten 114-run stand for the third wicket off 66 balls, ensuring a dominant win for CSK.