Synopsis: Sanju Samson’s first century in yellow steadies CSK as Jamie Overton’s 4/18 seals a first Chepauk win in six outings against Delhi Capitals As an edge raced to the third man boundary, Sanju Samson pumped his fists, raised the bat, and brought out Rajinikanth’s Padayappa salute. Chepauk erupted in whistles. Off the field, it had been more than three weeks since Samson had said, “Thatarom, thookurom” — smash it, lift the cup — and the yellow faithful had been waiting for the innings that would make the promise feel real. It came on Sunday. Unbeaten on 115 off 56 deliveries. CSK’s fourth win at home, their first in six outings at Chepauk. The innings had its complications. CSK finished 212/2, which on this surface felt like a score left on the table. The powerplay gave them 61, the final four overs 41 — both below par. Ruturaj Gaikwad’s sedate start held them back through the first half. Samson himself didn’t hit a single six in the first ten overs. The first came off the third ball of the eleventh over — a muscled pull that signalled the change in intent. By the time the fifteenth was done, Chennai had seven sixes. Between overs seven and sixteen, they plundered 107 runs. That middle period was where the innings lived. Ayush Mhatre gave it urgency — 59 off 36, a necessary jolt through the middle overs — before being retired out in the eighteenth. “Very important to have great partnerships,” Samson said afterwards. “Ayush has shown so much maturity.” With bowling resources this thin, twenty extra runs is not ambition. It is insurance. The pitch was good, the boundary dimensions generous, and Chennai could have pressed harder. But beyond the arithmetic, Samson stood out. If his World Cup knocks were brutal in their certainty, this hundred was quieter, more assuring than assaulting. What he brought to the middle was steadiness. A quality CSK have been missing. “I have failed a lot,” he said. “Mind gets a bit here and there. I need to know what my basics are. We did some good sessions with the support staff.”Story continues below this ad Since those three game-changing World Cup knocks, Samson has had a flat stretch. High scores, then silence, then another high score that makes you wonder why the silence was ever a concern. Sunday broke the silence. After three successive defeats, the pre-match meeting lasted fifty seconds. “We had a meeting of 50 seconds today even after losing three matches,” Samson said. “It never felt like a different franchise. People are so nice.” Against a Delhi pace attack with its share of limitations, he was in the mood from the first ball. The Rajinikanth salute, when it came, was not purely for the crowd. “That was for Fleming,” Samson said of coach Stephen Fleming. “I know how challenging it can be. I just wanted to dedicate this to him.” Three weeks of Chepauk anticipation, and when it finally arrived, he gave it away. The bowling still had work to do. KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka got Delhi off to a flier and for a period the 212 felt inadequate. Then the wickets came. Khaleel Ahmed removed Rahul off the last ball of the fifth over. A delivery later, Anshul Kamboj had Nissanka mis-time one to mid-on. In the next over, Sarfaraz Khan flew full length to his left to take a low catch and send Axar Patel back — and Chepauk found its voice again.Story continues below this ad Jamie Overton settled it. Four wickets for 18 runs, as clinical as Samson’s innings was assured. He found the hard lengths consistently, made the ball climb uncomfortably, and gave Delhi’s middle order no room to rebuild. The wickets fell regularly enough that the end, when it came, was comfortable. Delhi’s captain Axar Patel was candid: “Chasing 213 was possible, but our fielding let us down. Wickets kept falling in clusters.” Noor Ahmad took a wicket — his first since January — but went at over ten an over. CSK’s attack has limits. When they hit hard lengths, they find rewards. When they don’t, the limits show. Sunday they hit enough of them. 212/2 at Chepauk on a Sunday night, the whistles still ringing, the salute still fresh — and dedicated, it turned out, not to the crowd but to the coach. It was not a perfect performance. But Samson had shown up, and for now, at Chepauk, that is enough to make the good old days feel close again.
‘That was for Fleming’: Sanju Samson’s first CSK century — and the Rajinikanth’s Padayappa salute that wasn’t just for Chepauk
