Sanju Samson laid the foundation by bettering his T20 World Cup semifinal heroics at the Wankhede Stadium with his second hundred of IPL 2026. And Akeal Hosein’s sensational spell sealed the deal as the marquee clash between Mumbai Indians (MI) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) turned into a cakewalk for the visitor on Thursday.

Samson’s fifth IPL hundred, coupled with Akeal producing arguably the spell of the season, left MI on the mat as CSK registered a thumping 103-run win. After posting 207 for six, CSK bundled MI out for 104 in 19 overs with little fuss, the chase never quite taking off.

Impact Player Akeal, drafted in for his new-ball utility, struck immediately. His first over saw MI’s Impact Player Danish Malewar edge one behind the stumps. Soon after, Quinton de Kock played on off Mukesh Choudhary — the pacer gesturing to the heavens in tribute to his mother, who passed away earlier in the week. In his next over, Akeal spun one in from leg stump to castle Naman Dhir. At 11 for three, MI was already on the ropes.

The Wankhede, packed and loud, found itself outnumbered and outvoiced by a sea of yellow. The onus fell on Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma but Akeal returned to break that resistance, sneaking one through Tilak’s defence. Alongside Noor Ahmad, he triggered a collapse — four wickets for three runs off nine balls — as MI slipped from 84 for three to 87 for seven. Shardul Thakur, on as a concussion substitute for Mitchell Santner, merely delayed the inevitable.

Earlier, Samson had ensured that CSK had a big total to defend. Ruturaj Gaikwad started briskly before falling to Allah Ghazanfar while Shivam Dube struggled for timing. The rest of the top-order maintained strike rates above 150.

Samson, watchful early, opened up with precision later. On 85 at the start of the final over, he muscled one over deep midwicket off Krish Bhagat, then, after two dots, carved a wide ball over covers. Farming strike, he finished with a pull over square leg for a one-bounce four — a flourish that helped him celebrate the milestone in style and push MI on the back foot.

Published on Apr 23, 2026