DC vs CSK, IPL 2026: Sanju Samson-Kartik Sharma take Chennai to easy win

And with a 118-run partnership between Kartik and Sanju Samson; they take Chennai to yet another win. What an exceptional showing here, as they win by 8 wickets in the end. 10 matches and 5 wins for them.

Chennai need 18 to win, while Sanju is 16 away from another ton this season. He has been a delight to watch so far. Chennai will do a massive improvement to their NRR.

Sanju just doesn't hit one six ever. He goes for two at a time. Nattu comes into the attack, and dispatches him for consecutive sixes. Can he reach his ton is the question. He is on 79 now.

Ngidi's over fetches only one run, and it is clear that Chennai are in no hurry. They are paying respect to good deliveries.

It is raining sixes from Sanju's bat at the moment. Kuldeep is struck for two consecutive, and this makes a solid statement, that Chennai are winning this one. Oh, a boundary to follow. This is ordinary bowling. He gets to a fifty in only 32 deliveries.

Kartik is a decent player of spin and he clears out the front foot to hit him for a six. There are no real problems for Chennai here. 81 runs needed to win from now on.

T Natarajan comes into the attack and wickets would be needed from him. Stump-to-stump line can help him for sure. Sanju plays one through mid off for a four. The score is moving towards the target slowly. Delhi needs wickets.

Kuldeep Yadav has the ball in his hands, and his job will be to get rid of Sanju. But a short one sees the batter pull it for six. Poor bowling by the spinner.

Quick glove work by KL Rahul behind the stumps. Bowls it on the fifth stump, Urvil misses it completely, but his leg is in the air when the bails are dislodged.

Urvil has a domestic SR of 200, and this is not the wicket where he can play like that. Can he withstand that pressure? It is a slower one, and he is nearly caught by Ashutosh at the boundary. But on the very next delivery, he flicks for a massive six. But then the batter makes amends and hit the bowler for two sixes. 

Lungi Ngidi comes into the attack now. And he will be difficult to read, due to the change of pace, he does so well. Oh, Lungi has a wicket. He gets Gaikwad once again -- fourth time now. Rutu tries to flick, but is caught at deep square leg.

Starc has been bowling well here. He has not allowed Samson and Gaikwad to get away, and that is necessary to create the pressure. That is also when the wickets will come. They need to get three wickets in the PP.

Spin from the other end here, and skipper takes the responsibility in his own hands. But Sanju gets under the ball and hits a massive six. Axar also bowls five wides in the over.

Chennai openers Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad are at the crease now. Should not be a difficult chase for them. Mitchell Starc starts bowling for Delhi, and they need wickets upfront. There is an appeal for an LBW here against Sanju, and he survives. An edge saves him.

Did Delhi get it wrong?

Why would Delhi produce a dry-pitch for an opposition with Noor and Akeal?? The same question SRH fans should ask for the game vs KKR the other day. #IPL2026

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) May 5, 2026

Ashutosh Sharma is run-out in the last over after a good cameo of 14 runs. Delhi Capitals finish with 155/7. Chennai Super Kings need 156 runs to win. 20 runs come off Anshul Kamboj's last over.

Jamie Overton misses out on what was a seemingly easy catch. However, he makes it up in the very next delivery as he sends Tristan Stubbs packing. DC are 6 wickets down.

The fifty-run partnership comes up between Sameer Rizvi and Tristan Subbs as the former brings it up with a much-needed six. DC are aiming to reach the 150-run mark in the next 2 overs.

Gurjapneet Singh concedes just 29 runs from his four overs, while having bagged one wicket. A good spell for the young CSK pacer.

• Wickets: 26
• Avg: 20.23
• SR: 15.2
• ER: 7.96
• Dot%: 30.5

Delhi Capitals manage to score 12 runs off Mukesh Choudhary's last over as they go past the 100-run mark finally. DC's gamble to use Rizvi as an impact player has worked out so far.

Tristan Stubbs is turning out to be a match-saver for Delhi Capitals as he races to 27 off 19 balls. DC are yet to reach the 100-run mark.

Delhi Capitals are struggling to keep the scoreboard ticking as Tristan Stubbs and Sameer Rizvi are simply unable to score runs. DC are 77/5 at the end of 13 overs.

Axar Patel is the next DC batter to depart as the hosts lose half their side now. The DC captain departs after scoring just 2 runs as Gurjapneet Singh strikes. Sameer Rizvi comes in as the impact player, in place of Karun Nair.

Noor Ahmad gets his second wicket as Nitish Rana gets caught out. DC lose their fourth wicket as the hosts continue to falter in the game.

There's quite some rain but the game between DC and CSK hasn't been stopped. It is to be noted that there was a hailstorm and rainfall in parts of Delhi before the start of the contest.

Noor Ahmad strikes as Karun Nair is caught out just after the powerplay by Gurjapneet Singh. DC are three wickets down now and are in quite some trouble.

Twists, turns, and two lethal spinners! 🔄

🎥 Akeal Hosein and Noor Ahmad are weaving magic from both ends 🪄

Updates ▶️ https://t.co/f1bRZthndy#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #DCvCSK | @ChennaiIPL | @AHosein21 | @noor_ahmad_15 pic.twitter.com/uGUzd7d2Dk

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2026

Kaun Nair brings up the fifty for Delhi Capitals with a boundary. The team has been quite slow so far. All eyes are on Karun Nair and Nitish Rana.

Delhi Capitals manage to reach just 37/2 at the end of the powerplay. The team has lost openers KL Rahul and Pathum Nissanka within the first six overs. Not the start that the hosts would have wanted.

KL Rahul is forced to depart after scoring just 12 runs as Akeal Hossain strikes. Ruturaj Gaikwad takes an easy catch. DC are two down now!

7 runs come off the penultimate over of the powerplay as KL Rahul and Nitish Rana try hard to keep the scoreboard tickinng.

Mukesh Choudhary's slower ball gets the job done as Pathum Nissanka (19 off 15) is caught out by Dewald Brevis. DC lose their first wicket within the powerplay.

Glorious shot 👌
Rapid response 🔥

🎥 Mukesh Choudhary has the last laugh in the mini-battle with Pathum Nissanka 💛

Updates ▶️ https://t.co/f1bRZthndy#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #DCvCSK | @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/yl5X8CZOXD

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2026

This has been a solid start by CSK, who are not giving any loose deliveries to Nissanka and Rahul. Akeal Hosein is showing he can be the next overseas IPL star.

Mukhesh Choudhary into the attack from the other end. The bounce is not true on this pitch and it could be a struggle to score runs. Powerplay holds the key for sure, and the runs scored here could prove to be the difference.

It is Akeal Hosein who will start for CSK. Finally he is back for Chennai, and he has been greeted with a four by Nissanka. But he will have to be careful against the spinners. Another four to end the over.

While DC's Axar Patel won the toss and opted to bat first, both teams announced changes to their playing XIs. Check out what the captains said below

🚨 Toss 🚨@DelhiCapitals have won the toss and elected to bat first against @ChennaiIPL in Delhi.

Updates ▶️ https://t.co/f1bRZthndy#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #DCvCSK pic.twitter.com/Cm25OUrv4N

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2026

"We just want to carry that momentum into the last phase of the tournament. We’re really happy coming into this game, especially after the last one. But this is a new game, so we want to start fresh and start well. It’s also great to see youngsters getting opportunities and stepping up. It’s a good sign for the franchise - they are repaying the faith shown by the management. Still a long way to go," CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad said at the toss.

Sanju Samson(w), Ruturaj Gaikwad(c), Urvil Patel, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Jamie Overton, Akeal Hosein, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Mukesh Choudhary, Gurjapneet Singh

Impact subs: Shivam Dube, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Akash Madhwal, Sarfaraz Khan

KL Rahul(w), Pathum Nissanka, Karun Nair, Tristan Stubbs, Nitish Rana, Axar Patel(c), Ashutosh Sharma, Lungi Ngidi, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan

Impact subs: Vipraj Nigam, Sameer Rizvi, Abishek Porel, Auqib Nabi Dar, David Miller

DC leave out Starc here. Is he injured, or is it due to the nature of the pitch? A poor choice one can assume.

Axar Patel has won the toss and opted to bat first. This is contrary to what the experts believed. Lungi Ngidi comes back, and Kyle Jamieson goes out.

Delhi Capitals are hitting peak form at the perfect moment. KL Rahul has been the backbone of their batting, currently sitting at 433 runs for the season, including an unbeaten 152 at this very ground. The return of Lungi Ngidi, confirmed fit by coach Ricky Ponting after a concussion layoff, provides a massive boost to a pace unit led by a firing Mitchell Starc.

CSK continues to operate under a cloud of injury concerns. MS Dhoni has not traveled to Delhi and remains in Chennai to rehabilitate a persistent calf injury; he is yet to feature in the 2026 season. The squad is further depleted with Ramakrishna Ghosh (foot fracture) and Khaleel Ahmed (quadriceps tear) ruled out. Despite these setbacks, Sanju Samson remains their primary weapon, having already scored an unbeaten 115 against DC earlier this season.

It is a battle between the 6th and the 7th ranked teams, and a win here won't make a lot of difference to their existing standing, but will be a step forward in what looks like a long journey to playoffs. Both teams will have to be patient for sure.

Chennai Super Kings: Sanju Samson (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad (c), Sarfaraz Khan, Kartik Sharma, Dewald Brevis, Shivam Dube, Jamie Overton, Prashant Veer, Noor Ahmad, Anshul Kamboj, Gurjapneet Singh

Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul, Pathum Nissanka, Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi, Tristan Stubbs, Axar Patel (c), Ashutosh Sharma, Vipraj Nigam, Mitchell Starc, Kuldeep Yadav, T Natarajan.

Parts of New Delhi have been struck by a hailstorm and rain in the last hour. It could potentially lead to the start of the DC vs CSK contest being delayed. 

#WATCH | Parts of Delhi receive rainfall accompanied by a hailstorm. #Delhi #DelhiNCR #DelhiRains pic.twitter.com/N8cvt1NPax

— DD News (@DDNewslive) May 5, 2026

• Matches Played: 32
• CSK Won: 20
• DC Won: 12
• Record at Arun Jaitley Stadium: CSK leads 6-2

MS Dhoni, the former CSK captain, hasn't travelled to New Delhi and won't be a part of the game against the Delhi Capitals. The 44-year-old is yet to feature in IPL 2026 after sustaining a calf injury before the start of the season. CSK are hopeful that he will be available for selection sometime in the near future.

CSK continues to operate under a cloud of injury concerns. MS Dhoni has not traveled to Delhi and remains in Chennai to rehabilitate a persistent calf injury; he is yet to feature in the 2026 season. The squad is further depleted with Ramakrishna Ghosh (foot fracture) and Khaleel Ahmed (quadriceps tear) ruled out. Despite these setbacks, Sanju Samson remains their primary weapon, having already scored an unbeaten 115 against DC earlier this season.

Delhi Capitals are hitting peak form at the perfect moment. KL Rahul has been the backbone of their batting, currently sitting at 433 runs for the season, including an unbeaten 152 at this very ground. The return of Lungi Ngidi, confirmed fit by coach Ricky Ponting after a concussion layoff, provides a massive boost to a pace unit led by a firing Mitchell Starc