Sanju Samson Enters Rare 400 Club, Outpowers Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli In Elite T20 List
Sanju Samson slammed his fourth IPL century and his first for CSK, having joined the franchise last year as part of a trade deal with RR.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) talisman Sanju Samson on Saturday became the fourth Indian to smash 400 or more sixes in T20 cricket. He achieved the feat during CSK's IPL 2026 clash against Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Samson slammed his fourth IPL century and his first for CSK, having joined the franchise last year as part of a trade deal with RR. He slammed four sixes to take his tally to 401. The former Rajasthan Royals captain joined Rohit Sharma (554), Virat Kohli (440), and Suryakumar Yadav (421) in the elite list.
However, Samson (1.26/innings) has the best six-hitting pace among the quartet, ahead of Suryakumar (1.25/innings), Rohit (1.22/innings), and Kohli (1.10/innings).
During the clash at Chepauk, a wounded Samson, after three bad outings, roared back into form with an unbeaten 115* in 56 balls, with 11 fours and four sixes, at a strike rate of 205.36.
Out of his four IPL hundreds, Sanju has scored two for Rajasthan Royals (in the 2019 and 2021 seasons) and Delhi Capitals (in the 2017 season).
The 113-run partnership between Samson and half-century Ayush Mhatre is the second-highest for CSK vs DC for any wicket in IPL, behind 141 runs added by Conway and Gaikwad for the first wicket at Delhi in 2023.
Sanju was sensational against pace and spin alike, but he took some special liking to pacers, scoring 84 runs in 39 balls at a strike rate of 215.4, with 11 fours and three sixes, and scored 31 in 17 balls against spin at a strike rate of 182.3, with four boundaries and a six.
Coming to the match, DC won the toss and elected to bowl first. While skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (15 in 18 balls) looked rusty in his 62-run opening stand with Sanju, the Kerala-born batting star enjoyed the same fluency that earned him the 'Player of the Tournament' title in the T20 World Cup for India this year.
He later had a 113-run stand with Mhatre (59 in 36 balls, with three fours and four sixes) and a fiery cameo from Shivam Dube (20* in 10 balls, with two fours and a six) took CSK to 212/2 in 20 overs, with skipper Axar Patel (1/39) being among the wickets for DC.
(With ANI Inputs)
Chennai Super Kings
Delhi Capitals
Sanju Samson
Virat Kohli
Rohit Sharma