"I thought 155 was a good score but we felt at the end that we were 10-15 short. Once the set batters were playing it was fine, but it was not easy for the new batter. The length ball was holding and also keeping low. The way we batted after losing 5 wickets is a positive. But in bowling I missed my partner in Kuldeep. Now there's no room for error and we have to win all our 5 remaining matches."

Sanju Samson bossed the chase with authority, anchoring a modest 156-run target with a fluent 87 not out as Chennai Super Kings outclassed Delhi Capitals by eight wickets. 

Samson's knock came off just 52 balls with seven fours and six sixes, batting through the innings as CSK completed the chase in just 17.3 overs giving a huge boost to their net run-rate. Electing to bat on a tricky surface, Delhi Capitals were restricted to 155/7. 

West Indies left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein set the tone with the new ball, returning tidy figures of 1/19, including 14 dot balls. 

Reduced to 69/5 in 11 overs, Delhi found some late impetus through Tristan Stubbs (38; 31 balls) and Sameer Rizvi (40 not out; 24 balls), who stitched together a crucial 65-run (off 47 balls) stand to give the innings a respectable total.

Two sixes and one four for Sanju Samson in one over against T Natarajan. He continued his onslaught against Lungi Ngidi as well as he slammed two fours in the next over. This is turning out to be a breezy win for CSK.

CSK 138/2 (15.5 overs)

Sanju Samson looks like he is in a spot of bother as he is suffering from cramps. This has been an easy run chase till now with Sanju Samson and Kartik Sharma playing the bowlers quite comfortably. A six off Natarajan and this is too easy!

CSK 107/2 (14.1 overs)

Half-century for Sanju Samson! Brilliant show from him and he is showing no signs of stopping. Two back-to-back boundaries off Mitchell Starc and this is turning out to be a very easy run chase.

CSK 100/2 (12.1 overs)

This has been a slow but steady run chase by CSK. They have not taken extra risks and considering the fact that the total is not that much, this can be the winning approach for sure.

CSK 78/2 (11 overs)

Sanju Samson took matters into his own hands and slammed two boundaries in the over off T Natarajan. Even Kartik Sharma has looked in good touch and this will be the test of how well Axar Patel can rotate his bowlers.

CSK 66/2 (9 overs)

Excellent work by KL Rahul as he pulls off a brilliant stumping! Urvil Patel was out of his crease and the DC star disturbed the stumps in a flash. What a wicket for DC!

CSK 51/2 (7.4 overs)

Lungi Ngidi strikes! Ruturaj Gaikwad ended up miscuing his shot completely and an easy catch for Sameer Rizvi at mid-wicket. This is a dream start for DC! 

CSK 28/1 (5 overs)

This has been a steady start by the CSK openers. DC bowlers have been trying to find a weak spot but both batters have been extremely cautious. A welcome boundary off Starc and this is a good start.

CSK 22/0 (2.5 overs)

Not much from the first over Mitchell Starc conceded just one run. However, a big move by Delhi Capitals as Axar Patel has introduced himself in the second over itself.

CSK 10/0 (1.2 overs)

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson will open the innings for Chennai Super Kings while Mitchell Starc will begin proceedings for Delhi Capitals. It is time for the run chase!

20 runs off the final over! Anshul Kamboj is taken to the cleaners as Sameer Rizvi smokes a six off the very last ball to propel DC to 155/7. It's a remarkable recovery considering they were tottering at 69/5. That crucial 65-run stand between Rizvi (40*) and Stubbs (38) has given the home fans something to cheer about. Now, can the Delhi bowlers defend this under the lights?

Overton strikes! Returning to the attack in the 19th over, Craig Overton finally breaks this dangerous partnership. Stubbs nails the pull shot-hard and flat-but it doesn't have the elevation to go the distance. He picks out the fielder at long leg, who takes a sharp catch. A brilliant knock ends!

Tristan Stubbs c Mukesh Choudhary b Overton 38 (31)
DC: 134/6 (18.5)

Incredible shot! He shuffles across the off side and swats the ball high over the backward square leg boundary for six. That brings up the 50-run partnership in absolute style. This is a rescue act of the highest order for DC!
DC: 122/5 (17.3)

A strong gust of wind is blowing across the ground. It has been raining in the afternoon for the past couple of days in the NCR, and after a brief interruption earlier in the match, it seems the rain might return with even greater intensity this time.

Laps it over deep fine leg! He read the slower bouncer perfectly. Getting inside the line of the short ball, he used the pace to ramp it all the way for six. This is turning out to be a crucial partnership for the Capitals!

DC: 107/5 (15.4)

What a shot! That's a massive six! It lands way up in the upper tier! On a good length and just outside off, Stubbs fetches the ball from outside his reach and launches it over long-on for a monstrous maximum. That is exactly what the doctor ordered for DC!
DC: 85/5 (13.4)

DC are in absolute shambles! The wickets continue to tumble for the home side. It was a short-of-a-length delivery outside off that seemed to stop in the surface. Axar Patel played his shot far too early, only succeeding in lobbing a simple catch straight to the fielder at cover.
DC: 69/5 (10.6)

There goes another one! DC are crumbling! Nitish Rana got down on one knee to sweep, but he hit it flat and straight toward deep backward square leg. It was an easy catch in the deep, and the Delhi Capitals are in deep trouble!

Nitish Rana c Kartik Sharma b Noor Ahmad 15 (13)
DC: 61/4 (9.3)

Noor strikes! Poor shot selection from Karun Nair. This was a gift of a delivery-straying down the leg side-but Nair paddles it straight to the fielder at short fine leg. He's absolutely gutted, and DC are now in deep trouble!

Karun Nair c Gurjapneet Singh b Noor Ahmad 13 (13)
DC: 52/3 (7.6)

Nair brings out the paddle scoop! Moves right across his stumps and lofts this from off stump over short fine leg for a boundary. Top shot from the veteran!

DC: 45/2 (6.6)

Taken at mid-off! Rahul charges down the ground aiming to go big, but he ends up slicing this high into the night sky. The bowler beats him with flight and turn, and Ruturaj Gaikwad settles under it to take a pressure catch inside the circle. Huge wicket for Chennai!

KL Rahul c Gaikwad b Hosein 12 (13)

DC: 36/2 (5.1)

Mukesh strikes! What a response from the young man! Easy catch for Brevis at mid-on. Tried to slam this over mid-on but ends up hitting it straight to Brevis, who back-pedals to take an easy catch.

Pathum Nissanka c Brevis b Mukesh Choudhary 19 (15)

DC: 29/1 (4)

Vintage KL! He leans forward and creamed a cover drive through the gap for four. He overtakes Kohli for the most fours this season. This is a strong start from DC.
DC: 12/0 (1.2)

Slashed past point! He backed away to play through the off-side and ended up slicing the arm ball. There was no one at gully to intercept it, as Sanju had decided to move the fielder into a slip just a couple of balls earlier.

DC: 8/0 (0.5)

Akeal opening the bowling for CSK! Nissanka to face the first ball. Strays on the pads and Nissanka sweeps this hard past the fielder at backward square leg and to the boundary. Perfect start for DC!

DC: 4/0 (0.1)

DC batting-first XI: KL Rahul, Pathum Nissanka, Karun Nair, Tristan Stubbs, Nitish Rana, Axar Patel, Ashutosh Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan

DC's Impact Player bench: Vipraj, Rizvi, Porel, Auqib, Miller

CSK bowling-first XI: Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Chowdhary, Gurjapneet Singh

CSK's Impact Player bench: Dube, Veer, Short, Madhwal, Sarfaraz

Axar Patel wins the toss and DC will bat first. This is a massive call, as the season has been dominated by teams chasing successfully. The decision is indeed surprising, according to experts. Lungi Ngidi is back for this game, replacing Kyle Jamieson in the playing XI.

DC have had a horror run at Arun Jaitley so far. They have won their last three games at home, mainly due to their poor fielding. The Capitals have dropped 16 catches so far in the tournament, and their catching efficiency at 65.2 per cent is the worst among all teams. 

Lungi Ngidi is back with the DC squad after completing concussion protocols. However, following Mitchell Starc's stunning season debut last time out, Ngidi is likely to sit out this one.

After suffering from a bad Form in Early stage of IPL 2026, Ruturaj Gaikwad is back in form. He scored a unbeaten 67 in the previous match - his second consecutive half-century. He overtook Faf Du Plessis to become the 3rd leading Run Scorer for CSK in IPL.

CSK lead 3:2 in the past five meetings against DC. This is the first game on pitch no. 4 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium this season. As per ESPNcricinfo, the team batting first has a 3-2 record since the last two seasons, even though the toss decision has been to chase in seven of the last eight games.

DC's talisman KL Rahul has scored 433 runs in nine matches so far this season. He needs just eight runs tonight to surpass Abhishek Sharma (440) in the Orange Cap race for now.

Good evening and welcome to our live blog of the IPL 2026 match between Delhi Capitals and Chennai Super Kings. Both teams have won four of their nine matches so far, with CSK (6th) sitting just ahead of DC (7th) in the points table thanks to a superior Net Run-Rate.