It was what Chennai Super Kings’ faithful was waiting for ever since Sanju Samson made a headline-grabbing move to the five-time champion from Rajasthan Royals for this season.

After three low scores, Samson finally came good and sent the crowd into delirium with a sparkling unbeaten 115 (56b, 15x4, 4x6) to help Super Kings beat Delhi Capitals by 23 runs at the MAC Stadium on Saturday.

Samson found good support from Ayush Mhatre (59, 36b, 3x4, 4x6), who scored his second half-century of the season. Their 113-run stand for the second wicket propelled the home team to 212 for two after it was asked to bat.

In reply, Pathum Nissanka (41 off 24 balls) got Capitals off to a flier as he carted the CSK pacers around the park, taking his team past 50 in the fourth over.

The host, however, pulled things back when Khaleel Ahmed removed K.L. Rahul by coming around the wicket and bouncing the opener out. Khaleel’s pace partner Anshul Kamboj corrected his length by going fuller and forced Nissanka to hit straight to mid-on.

Jamie Overton (4-0-18-4) struck twice in his first two overs, using the bounce of the red-soil surface to remove the dangerous Sameer Rizvi and David Miller to put CSK on top.

While Tristan Stubbs (60, 38b, 4x4, 3x6) played a valiant knock, the home team kept chipping away at the other end. In his final over, Overton fittingly accounted for Stubbs to pave the way for the Men in Yellow’s first win of IPL 2026.

Earlier, Samson relied on sound fundamentals like decisive footwork and a still head to pepper the boundaries at will. The Kerala batter cut, flicked and went down the ground regally against the pacers. Against Axar Patel, the opener moved towards the leg-side to free his arms and hit the left-arm spinner twice over covers, as CSK managed 61 in the PowerPlay.

In the 11th over, Samson cut loose, depositing a juicy full toss from T. Natarajan over midwicket for the first maximum of the game. From there on, the 31-year-old spared none, lofting Kuldeep Yadav over extra cover, pulling Natarajan and launching Lungi Ngidi through midwicket en route his fourth IPL century.

Could this be the start of a revival for both Samson and CSK?