DC vs CSK Highlights, IPL 2026: Sanju Samson shines with unbeaten 87 as Chennai Super Kings beat Delhi Capitals by 8 wickets

Axar Patel to Sanju Samson, Nice and full, on off, Sanju Samson pushes it to the left of the bowler.

A good end to the Powerplay for CSK! They have gone just ahead of DC at this stage, but this game will be decided by how both these teams play in the middle overs.

Lungi Ngidi to Urvil Patel, SIX MORE! That's the way to end the Powerplay! Lungi Ngidi goes fuller this time, on off, Urvil Patel takes a step forward and launches it over long on for yet another six. Chennai Super Kings end the Powerplay at 44/1.

Lungi Ngidi to Urvil Patel, SIX! All the way! On a length from Lungi Ngidi, on middle and leg, Urvil Patel latches onto it and whips it powerfully over deep square leg for a biggie.

Lungi Ngidi to Urvil Patel, In the air...but safe! Full, outside off, slower too. Urvil Patel tries to go big over long on, but fails to get the distance on it. The ball carries towards long on. Ashutosh Sharma runs to his left from deep mid-wicket and dives, but the ball lands out of his reach. He gets back up on his feet and manages to stop the ball from going for a boundary. The batters collect two runs.

Lungi Ngidi to Sanju Samson, Lungi Ngidi bowls it on a good length, on middle and leg, and pace off. Sanju Samson turns it to mid-wicket for a single.

Lungi Ngidi to Sanju Samson, Past the edge! Slower one, outside off, Sanju Samson stays back and looks to punch it away but gets beaten.

Lungi Ngidi to Urvil Patel, Hard length from Lungi Ngidi, on leg, Urvil Patel knocks it down the ground for a quick single.

Axar Patel to Urvil Patel, Excellent over! Just 4 runs off it. Full, on middle, Urvil Patel steps out and hacks it to deep mid-wicket for just a single.

Axar Patel to Urvil Patel, Arm ball, on leg, Urvil Patel looks to flick it but gets an inside edge as the ball rolls towards short fine leg. Dot.

Axar Patel to Sanju Samson, So far, so good from Axar Patel. He fires it on middle and leg, Sanju Samson shuffles across and pushes it to mid off for one.

Axar Patel to Sanju Samson, A tad fuller, on middle and leg, Sanju Samson blocks it to mid off. 

Axar Patel to Urvil Patel, He goes fuller this time, on off, Urvil Patel pushes it to wide mid off for one more.

Change of ends for Axar Patel.

Axar Patel to Sanju Samson, Axar Patel comes into the attack and darts it on leg, Sanju Samson tucks it to mid-wicket for a run.

Lungi Ngidi to Urvil Patel, Nearly two in two! Goes wide on the crease and angles it in, on a good length, around the off stump. Urvil Patel pushes out in front with a straight bat but is beaten as the ball straightens to go past the blade.

Early blow for CSK! Urvil Patel walks out to bat at number 3.

Lungi Ngidi to Ruturaj Gaikwad, OUT! IN THE AIR AND GONE! The CSK skipper falls cheaply. Lungi Ngidi strikes on his return from that awful accident. Cross-seam ball at 136.4 kph, on a length, on middle. Gaikwad plants his front foot across and looks to play the pick-up shot off the pads. Gaikwad takes on the deep square leg fielder, but he is through his shot early. He fails to get any power on the shot and picks out Sameer Rizvi in the deep, who bends and takes the catch around his knee. CSK are 24/1, chasing 156.

Lungi Ngidi to Sanju Samson, Delivers it full, on middle. Samson wrists it wide of mid-wicket. Ashutosh Sharma moves to his right and dives, keeping the batters down to a single.

Lungi Ngidi to Sanju Samson, Fuller at 139.4 kph, on middle. Sanju stays leg side of the ball and angles the drive to cover.

Lungi Ngidi to Ruturaj Gaikwad, Leg bye! Fractionally short, on middle. Gaikwad swivels for the pull but the ball goes under his bat and raps him on the thigh. A leg bye is taken as the ball goes in front of point.

Lungi Ngidi to Ruturaj Gaikwad, Half a shout for LBW! There were two sounds and the appeal has been turned down. Begins from over the wicket and goes wide on the crease. Attacking the front pad with a good-length delivery. Gaikwad ekes out an inside edge onto the front pad.

Change? Yes, Lungi Ngidi replaces his skipper. Good to see him back on the field after an injury scare a couple of games ago.

Mitchell Starc to Sanju Samson, Well beaten! Full and wide on off, Samson stays rooted to the crease and just goes searching for the ball with his hands, only to miss.

Mitchell Starc to Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tight single! In line with the off pole, on a good length. Gaikwad plays it close to his body and drops it with soft hands beside the strip on the off side. Pathum Nissanka gets to the ball in a flash from cover and releases an underarm throw at the bowling end on the dive. He misses but Gaikwad was home anyway.

Mitchell Starc to Ruturaj Gaikwad, FOUR! Off the edge! This is full, outside off. Ruturaj Gaikwad's feet go nowhere and just pushes away from his body. Gets a thickish outside edge and it goes uppishly but right through the gap between short third and a fine backward point.

Mitchell Starc to Sanju Samson, And again, this time, it is Pathum Nissanka. Fuller and on off, Samson taps it away to cover, where Pathum Nissanka flings himself to his left and makes a half-stop. It is parried away to the deep fielder. Just a single.

Mitchell Starc to Sanju Samson, Fine effort! Starc hits the back of a length, on off. Sanju rides the bounce and angles it behind point with an open bat face. Sameer Rizvi dives to his right and sticks out his right hand to make the stop. It would have been a boundary if not for the stop.

Mitchell Starc to Sanju Samson, Wide! Starc goes full in search of swing but sprays it well outside the tramline. Samson lets it be.

Mitchell Starc to Sanju Samson, Lands it on a good length, Samson waits back and makes use of the angle to glide it to short third.

Axar Patel to Ruturaj Gaikwad, Fuller and bowled with a flatter trajectory, on off. Gaikwad cuts it to point.

Axar Patel to Ruturaj Gaikwad, Pushed through, on a good length, on middle. Ruturaj Gaikwad advances and plays it back to Axar.

Axar Patel to Ruturaj Gaikwad, FIVE WIDES! That has beaten everyone! Axar follows Gaikwad as he backs away, on the shorter side. Ruturaj misses out on the glance. KL Rahul is unsighted by the batter standing in front of him. He stands no chance of making a stop as the ball beats him to his left and races into the fence.

Axar Patel to Ruturaj Gaikwad, Short and on middle, Gaikwad cuts it to cover.

Axar Patel to Ruturaj Gaikwad, Short and on off, that is punched off the back foot to cover. The batters wait for the ball to beat the fielder but Nitish Rana moves swiftly to his right to cut it off.

Axar Patel to Sanju Samson, Uppish but safe! Slower through the air, on a good length, on off. Samson looks to push it down the ground with a straight bat. Chips it uppisly but well away from Axar to his left.

Axar Patel to Sanju Samson, SIX! Lovely shot! Sliding on with the arm, on a length, on middle. Samson stays leg side of the ball and opens up the front hip. He gets his hands through the ball and goes inside out over cover with a high elbow for a six.

End of an eventful first over! Spin from the other end as Axar Patel brings himself into the attack.

Mitchell Starc to Ruturaj Gaikwad, A flash and a miss! Angling away, on a hard length. Gaikwad throws his hands at the ball but connects with thin air.

Is that out? Axar Patel sends it upstairs for an LBW decision, not given on the field. It looks pretty close to the naked eye if there is no bat involved. However, UltraEdge shows a spike when the ball is next to the bat. The on-field call of NOT OUT stands.

Mitchell Starc to Sanju Samson, DC lose their review! Starc pushes the length up, on middle and leg. Gets the ball to curve back into the right-hander. Samson presses half-forward and is on his heel while trying to flick it away. The ball sneaks under the toe end of the blade to catch him low on the front pad. The batters cross over for one. A loud shout for LBW, but turned down. Axar Patel walks up to the bowler and takes the review in the nick of time. The UltraEdge comes up with a scratch when the ball is near the toe of the bat. The on-field decision is upheld.

Mitchell Starc to Ruturaj Gaikwad, Another one that goes across, bowled on a length. Gaikwad stays leg side and guides it through point for a single to get off the mark.

Mitchell Starc to Ruturaj Gaikwad, Pitched up at 143.1 kph, outside off. Gaikwad extends his hands and punches it away but can't beat Pathum Nissanka at cover.

Mitchell Starc to Ruturaj Gaikwad, Drags the length back and hits the top of off. Gaikwad gets on his toes and steers it to backward point. Samson was keen for a single but is sent back in time.

Mitchell Starc to Sanju Samson, Samson and CSK are underway! Pushed across the right-hander, on a length. No visible movement in the air. Samson angles the bat face and dabs it behind point for a single to open his account.

We are back for the chase! The players are already out in the middle now. Sanju Samson, who already has a hundred against the Delhi Capitals this season, will open the innings alongside his skipper, Ruturaj Gaikwad. It will be Mitchell Starc to start proceedings with the ball. A slip in place as well. Here we go...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Looking ahead - CSK were exceptionally disciplined with the ball, so much so that the first extra didn't come until the 16th over of the innings. Anshul Kamboj, who has otherwise been remarkable across phases, was found out with his wide yorker plan at the death. A challenging task now awaits Chennai on what is a tricky surface. Axar Patel had expected the wicket to slow down, and if that happens, it could make the chase even tougher for CSK. Stick around for the chase.

A quick word - CSK's Gurjapneet Singh is in for a chat. Singh says that the wicket is a bit sticky and they were just looking to bowl around that hard length and get the most out of the deck. Singh says that they were looking to be disciplined, and that paid off at the end. Singh concludes by saying that they looked to be restricting DC for 140-145, but they'll take this score.

From struggle to surge - After opting to bat first, the DC openers found it tough to get going in the Powerplay, highlighted by the 22 dot balls in that phase. The good work done in the Powerplay was carried seamlessly into the middle overs by the CSK bowlers. They did not allow partnerships to develop and made full use of the conditions. Dropped early on 1, Tristan Stubbs stitched together a crucial 65-run stand to revive the innings with the Impact Sub, Sameer Rizvi, for company. Late fireworks from Rizvi and Ashutosh Sharma took them past 150 from being 69/5 when 155 looked a long way away.