Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Sanju Samson achieved a rare feat with his unbeaten 87 against Delhi Capitals (DC) at Arun Jaitley Stadium on May 5. Samson became the third batter in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history to score 200 or more runs against an opponent in a single edition.
Samson scored an aggregate of 202 runs against DC in the ongoing edition. He had scored an unbeaten 115 in the home game against Axar Patel's DC.
Samson surpassed IPL legend Chris Gayle on the list. He had scored 196 runs against now-defunct Pune Warriors India in 2013 which featured a record-breaking unbeaten 175 which still stands as the highest T20 score.
Samson enters exclusive list featuring Kohli, Rahul
Other batters who have scored 200-plus runs against a single opponent in an IPL edition are Virat Kohli and KL Rahul. In 2016, Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) Kohli scored 209 runs against now-defunct Gujarat Lions. He followed up an unbeaten 100 with a 109-run knock. Six years later, former Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) captain Rahul had scored 206 runs against Mumbai Indians (MI). He registered two unbeaten 103-run knock against MI in IPL 2022. Samson missed out on becoming the third batter to score two centuries against an opponent.
Samson maintains good record vs DC
Samson also became the eighth batter to score 600 or more runs against Delhi franchise. From 19 innings, he has 620 runs at an average of 44.28 and strike rate of 156.17. With the unbeaten 87, he surpassed former players Shikhar Dhawan, AB de Villiers on the list.
Samson’s match-winning partnership
In the run chase of 156, Samson's opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad departed after scoring six runs from 13 balls. Then, Urvil Patel after a 9-ball 17 cameo. Samson batted patiently and then attacked out-of-form Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan. His unbeaten 52-ball 87 featured seven fours and six sixes. He shared an unbeaten 114-run partnership from 66 balls for the third wicket with young Kartik Sharma.
Samson also crossed the 400-run mark this season. He is currently placed fifth in the race for orange cap with two centuries and a fifty to his name.