Former India captain Anil Kumble has praised the Chennai Super Kings opener. sanju samson For his explosive, match-winning century against Delhi Capitals at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on 11 April.
Samson scored an unbeaten 115 off just 56 balls with 15 fours and four sixes in CSK's 23-run win, helping them open their account after a hat-trick of defeats earlier in the season.
Kumble, while analyzing Samson's effort, highlighted that the wicketkeeper-batsman displayed his wide range by dividing his runs equally on the off and on-side. The former spinner admitted that he was impressed by Samson's game awareness, adding that it was positive for both him and the team that he converted his start into a big innings, especially after missing out by narrow margins three times in India's victorious 2026 T20 World Cup campaign.
Samson's unbeaten innings helped CSK score 212 for 2, with a key contribution coming from young Ayush Mhatre, who showed strong intent by scoring 59 off 36 before retiring as a strategic move.
“You can see from his wagon wheels that he plays all around the ground. It's not just that he has a strong off-side or a strong on-side. What was really impressive was that he wanted to play with a straight bat, not a horizontal bat. When your initial thought process is to play with a straight bat, and then you adjust when the bowler pitches short, it becomes much easier for the batsman to score runs,” Kumble told GeoStar.
“His game awareness is excellent, and when he gets going, he makes it count. We saw it in the T20 World Cup. He didn't convert those 90s into 100s, but it was different in this game. It was his first century for CSK and fourth overall, a big relief for CSK fans, and also for Sanju Samson, as there was a lot of pressure on him after the first three tough matches,” he said.
Kumble's co-panelist Cheteshwar Pujara pointed out that such a win would be a confidence boost for CSK, especially after three defeats on the bounce.
“If you look at the CSK camp, the body language of every player, including the support staff, shows that they desperately needed this win. They will be relieved, and now that they have their first win on the board, they will start believing that they have a chance,” Pujara said.
“Once you start winning in the IPL, it's always about momentum. You start believing that you can make it to the playoffs, because when you are losing, no matter how much you try to maintain a good atmosphere, there is always some negativity. But when you start winning, everyone starts thinking positive,” he concluded.
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