Sanju Samson paced his unbeaten 87 off 52 balls perfectly on a tricky track as Chennai Super Kings kept themselves relevant in the Indian Premier League with an eight-wicket win over a self-destructing Delhi Capitals in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Opting to bat, DC’s struggles with the bat at home continued as they ended up with a below par 155 for seven, on a pitch offering assistance to spinners with odd ball holding up.

Samson and Kartik Sharma (41 not out off 31 balls) forged a 114-run unbroken partnership off 66 balls for the third wicket, taking CSK home in 17.3 overs for their fifth win of the season.

For DC, the road to the play-offs got a lot tougher after their sixth defeat in 10 matches.

While the CSK spin duo of Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad excelled, DC’s lead spinner Kuldeep Yadav conceded 34 runs in his three overs. He was hit for four sixes in those 18 balls, releasing all the pressure DC had put on the opposition by limiting them to 44 for one in the powerplay.

While skipper Axar Patel did the containing job well, Kuldeep failed to get a wicket in the middle overs to make it easier for CSK.

Trump card Mitchell Starc was not able to strike early on though Lungi Ngidi removed Ruturaj Gaikwad in his opening over.

It seemed Samson had it all figured out in his head. Having laboured to 15 off his first 17 balls, he targeted Kuldeep post the powerplay to anchor the chase for his team. His innings included half a dozen sixes.

The opener also struck two hundreds in his debut season for the storied franchise.

Earlier, Delhi Capitals’ struggles with the bat at home continued as they faltered on a testing track to end up with a below par 155.

On a pitch offering assistance to the spinners with the odd ball holding up, the home team batters failed to apply themselves.

The free fall began with the loss of opener Pathum Nissanka, who failed to clear the mid-on fielder off a slower ball from left-arm pacer Mukesh Choudhary.

Both Nissanka (19 off 15) and K L Rahul (12 off 13) began with crisp boundaries but did not last long. After Nissanka, Rahul attempted an inside-out hit off left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein but could not get to the pitch of the ball on the charge to be caught by opposition captain Ruturaj Gaikwad.

DC laboured to 37 for two in the powerplay, with Hosein bowling half of the overs including one from the other end that produced the wicket of Rahul.

With DC’s innings not gaining any momentum, the crowd, mostly in yellow supporting CSK and M S Dhoni, who did not even travel for the game, built more pressure on the ‘home team’. Chants of CSK, CSK were heard regularly during the innings.

With a batting performance like that, it seemed DC had not overcome the mental demons of 75 all out in their last game here.

After the powerplay, another spinner Noor Ahmad dominated the opposition, removing Karun Nair and Nitish Rana, who both fell to a poorly executed sweep shot.

DC captain Axar Patel had the ideal opportunity to make an impact with the bat but fell to a soft dismissal, offering a sitter to the cover fielder off a Gurjapneet Singh ball that appeared to stop on him. DC were now reeling at 69 for five in 11 overs.

Tristan Stubbs (38 off 31) and impact player Sameer Rizvi (40 not out off 24) hit a flurry of sixes to take the innings forward in their 65-run stand but the damage done in the first half of the game could not be reversed as DC ended with an underwhelming total.

Mumbai Indians’ bowlers are under scrutiny after failing to defend their highest first-innings total in the Indian Premier League on Wednesday but ​captain Hardik Pandya refused to single them out for ‌blame and said the whole team were accountable.

Five-times champions Mumbai are enduring a wretched season and are ninth in the 10-team standings with just two wins from eight matches.

Their much-vaunted bowling unit, spearheaded by India paceman Jasprit Bumrah, has struggled mightily with conditions ⁠in the IPL heavily favouring batsmen.

Mumbai posted 243-5 against Sunrisers ​Hyderabad at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, only for the visitors ​to chase it down comfortably in a six-wicket win with eight balls to spare.

Bumrah, widely regarded as the world’s premier fast bowler, went wicketless once ​again while conceding 54 runs in four overs. He remains ​stuck on two wickets in eight matches.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Pandya said ‌there ⁠was lots of blame to go around for the defeat.

“I won’t put my bowlers under the bus. I think as an overall unit, we have not been able to do what exactly ​Mumbai Indians stands ​for,” he ⁠said.

Mumbai, who have used 22 players this season, more than any other side, just needed a ​slice of luck to turn things around, Pandya added.

“It’s been ⁠that kind of season. When you get a couple of chances, you grab them, that’s when luck and momentum changes,” he said.

“If ⁠you don’t, ​it kind of hurts you, but ​it’s still fine, all the boys tried really well.”

Mumbai next face Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.

Punjab Kings, the chase masters have added another feather to their illustrious cap as they have hunted down a mammoth 265 against the Delhi Capitals in the IPL 2026 clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Saturday, IPL 2026. 

The Kings have yet again registered the highest chase in T20 cricket ever, breaking down their own previous record when they hunted down 262 against Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024.

Chasing a daunting 264 after KL Rahul’s unbeaten 152 and Nitish Rana’s 91 powered Delhi to 264 for 2, Punjab needed a fearless start. What followed was one of the most explosive powerplay displays in IPL history. Arya and Prabhsimran took DC’s bowlers to the cleaners, racing to 100 in just 5.2 overs, the second-fastest team hundred in IPL history.

Thereafter, captain Shreyas Iyer (71 off 36 balls) with ample support from Nehal Wadhera and Shashank Singh at the other end paced the chase to perfection to take his side to a memorable win with seven balls to spare.