Samson's History-Making Hundred, Mhatre's Controversial Exit: CSK Finally Awaken at Chepauk in IPL 2026

Saturday at Chepauk was the day everything CSK had promised finally arrived in one explosive, record-filled innings — and the most talked-about moment of the evening was not the century, the milestones, or the final total, but the sight of an 18-year-old being walked off the field for doing his job brilliantly.

The Night Sanju Samson Rewrote the Record Books

When DC skipper Axar Patel won the toss and chose to bowl, it seemed like a sensible decision. CSK were winless in four matches, Sanju Samson had made 22 runs across three outings, and the Chepauk surface had not yet produced a batting masterclass in IPL 2026.

What followed was an innings for the ages.

Samson began carefully — 13 off his first 10 balls, still feeling the pace of the surface — before shifting into a mode that DC had no answer for. By the 10th over, he had reached 61 off 32 balls. By the time Mhatre was retired out in the 18th over, Samson had 100 off 52 balls. He eventually finished 115 not out off 56 balls — 11 fours, four sixes, strike rate of 205.36.

That innings made him the first batter in IPL history to score centuries for three different franchises — a hundred for Delhi Capitals (102 against Rising Pune Supergiants in 2017), two hundreds for Rajasthan Royals (2019 and 2021), and now 115 for Chennai Super Kings. It was also the first century of IPL 2026.

In the same innings, Samson completed 400 T20 sixes — the fourth Indian to reach the milestone after Rohit Sharma (554), Suryakumar Yadav (442) and Virat Kohli (441). He now has 401.

“Retired Out” — The Decision That Split the Internet

At the third ball of the 18th over, with CSK on 175/2 and Samson deep in his century, the dugout made a call: Ayush Mhatre — batting on 59 off 36 balls, fresh from a 113-run stand with Samson — was retired out. Shivam Dube walked in.

The reasoning from the CSK think-tank led by head coach Stephen Fleming was tactical and specific: Mhatre, at 18, is a touch player — brilliant at building and accumulating — but less suited to the six-ball chaos of a T20 death over. Dube, by contrast, is one of the best finishers in the competition, a batter who has hit some of the cleanest sixes seen at Chepauk over three seasons. With Shivam Dube available, CSK wanted the left-right combination and the power-hitting security at the death.

Dube made 20 not out off 10 balls — two fours, a six — and helped CSK finish at 212/2. The total vindicated the call, but the internet was not convinced.

Social media split almost exactly down the middle:

“A very good decision as they had Brevis and Dube at their disposal and they got slow in last 2 overs.”

“Unpopular opinion: Ayush Mhatre is a better hitter than Shivam Dube and retiring Ayush out was a bad move.”

“Very odd — CSK retire out Ayush Mhatre on 59 off 36.”

Mhatre’s innings — 59 off 36 balls, three fours, four sixes — included a 113-run partnership with Samson off 68 balls, the second-highest stand CSK have ever put on against DC for any wicket in IPL history, behind Devon Conway and Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 141 in Delhi in 2023.

The Bigger Picture: CSK’s First Win Beckons

CSK posted 212/2 — their highest total of IPL 2026 and a platform from which their bowling attack, patchy until now, can finally work with breathing room.

The match was in progress at the time of writing. DC — who came into this fixture fourth in the table with two wins from three — have KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka opening, a side more than capable of chasing 212 on a Chepauk surface that gets slower as the innings progresses.

But the first innings told a story of a franchise rediscovering itself. Samson — Player of the Tournament at the T20 World Cup, now writing his own chapter with a new franchise — chose Chepauk as the venue for his statement. And Mhatre, the ICC U19 World Cup-winning captain who took the trophy home to Maharashtra just months ago, played his role before the management chose the finisher over the builder.

The Innings at a Glance