'He's backbone now': Ruturaj Gaikwad credits Sanju Samson for CSK's late-season revival
Ruturaj Gaikwad lauded Sanju Samson's match-winning 87* against Delhi Capitals, calling him the team's backbone. Samson's unbeaten knock, alongside Kartik Sharma's support, secured an eight-wicket win for CSK, keeping their playoff hopes alive. This victory propelled CSK to fifth place in the IPL 2026 standings.
CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad has heaped his praise on Sanju Samson, after his match winning knock of unbeaten 87 runs where he shared a 114 runs partnership with Kartik Sharma to secure 8 wicket win against Delhi Capitals in Delhi. Sanju Samson is playing in IPL 2026 after a historic Rs 18 crore trade from Rajasthan Royals. He is among the top five run-scorers this season, consistently in the contention the Orange Cap race with 402 runs in 10 matches at an average of 57.
42. In his yesterday's match against Delhi Capitals, he smashed an unbeaten 87 off 52 balls which earned him the Player of the Match. He also scripted history and became the the first batter ever to be part of two hundred-plus partnerships against the Delhi Capitals in a single edition of the tournament.
He scored his first hundred of the season (115*) against Delhi Capitals in Chennai and a second (101) against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium. During the April 2026 match against Kolkata Knight Riders, he surpassed the 5,000-run mark in his IPL career. After Sanju Samson's match winning knock against Delhi Capitals, CSK captain backed him as the backbone of the team; ''Yes, definitely.
On the batting side, I would say, I mean, more than grateful to have Sanju in the side after the tournament he had even in the World Cup and even now. So obviously he's backbone now,'' Ruturaj Gaikwad in post match conference. CSK alive in playoffs race Chennai Super Kings kept their playoff hopes alive with a commanding eight-wicket win over Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in IPL 2026.