CSK maul MI by 103 runs, get their biggest IPL win

MUMBAI: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) registered a commanding 103-run victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) in their IPL 2026 “El Clasico” clash at Mumbai on Thursday, powered by a sensational century from Sanju Samson and a clinical bowling performance led by Akeal Hosein.

CSK posted a formidable 207/6, riding on Samson’s fluent 101, before their bowlers dismantled MI’s batting lineup, bundling them out for just 104. The hosts never recovered from an early collapse and were eventually outclassed in all departments as CSK sealed a dominant win. With this victory, the Super Kings climbed to fifth in the IPL 2026 standings.

CSK’s dominant 103-run victory over MI also went into the record books as their biggest win in terms of runs in IPL history. They surpassed their previous record of a 97-run win against Kings XI Punjab (Now Punjab Kings) in Chennai during the 2015 season.

Appreciation all around for a special knock

Sanju Samson Respect #TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #MIvCSK | @ChennaiIPL pic.twitter.com/eS0u6dxRGi

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 23, 2026

For the Mumbai Indians, the defeat marked their heaviest loss in IPL history by runs. Their earlier worst margin of defeat was an 87-run loss to the Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur during the 2013 season. It also became their biggest defeat at the Wankhede Stadium, surpassing a 39-run loss to the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2015.

The total of 104 is MI’s lowest score against CSK in IPL, lower than their 136/8 at Dubai in the 2021 edition. Overall, CSK have now won five of the last six encounters against MI since 2023. Chasing a target of 208, MI endured a disastrous start to their innings. They lost opener Danish Malewar for a golden duck, dismissed by left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein in the very first over.

The troubles continued in the next over when seamer Mukesh Choudhary clean bowled Quinton de Kock for 7, leaving MI reeling at 11/2 after two overs. In the third over, Hosein struck again, removing Naman Dhir for a three-ball duck as MI slipped further to 11/3 in just three overs.

By the end of the sixth over, MI had managed to reach 29/3, still under pressure after the early setbacks. However, the team staged a recovery as Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav steadied the innings, taking MI to 78/3 at the conclusion of the 10th over.

On the fifth delivery of the 11th over, Hosein struck again to claim the crucial wicket of Tilak Varma, who was clean bowled. The left-handed batter played a fighting innings of 37 off 29 balls, hitting five boundaries before his dismissal, as MI scored 85/4.

In the 13th over, leg-spinner Noor Ahmad delivered a double blow that further dented Mumbai’s innings. He first dismissed captain Hardik Pandya for just 1 on the opening delivery of the over, and followed it up immediately by removing Sherfane Rutherford for a golden duck on the very next ball.

The twin strikes left MI reeling at 87/6 at the end of the 13th over, as their batting collapse continued. The wickets continued to tumble as Akeal Hosein struck again on the very first ball of the 14th over, claiming his fourth wicket of the innings.

The left-arm spinner removed the key batter Suryakumar Yadav, who had played a resilient knock of 36 off 30 balls, including five boundaries. After the end of the 16th over, MI were reeling at 99/7. Speedster Jamie Overton got the wicket of Krish Bhagat, as MI lost their eighth wicket during the last ball of the 17th over. The hosts reached 100/8. In the very next over, Anshul Kamboj removed Shardul Thakur (6).

MI were eventually bundled out for 104 runs after Gurjapneet Singh took the final wicket of Jasprit Bumrah. The Super Kings won the one-sided clash, El Clasico by 103 runs. For CSK, Akeal Hosein bagged a four-wicket haul (4/17). Noor Ahmad (2/24), Mukesh Choudhary (1/31), Anshul Kamboj (1/10), Jamie Overton (1/14), Gurjapneet Singh (1/7) were among the wicket-takers for their side.

Sanju Samson’s fluent second hundred of the ongoing IPL cruised CSK to a massive 207-6. Samson was at his best once again as he slammed 101 off 54 balls, laced with 10 fours and 6 sixes, striking at 187.04. This was also Sanju Samson’s fifth IPL hundred, taking him to joint fourth on the all-time list alongside KL Rahul, behind Virat Kohli (8), Jos Buttler (7) and Chris Gayle (6). Samson’s hundred is the first individual century by a CSK batter against MI in IPL.

MI won the toss and elected to bowl first. Sanju Samson and Ruturaj Gaikwad opened the innings for CSK. The Powerplay was a high-octane affair, dominated by CSK’s aggressive intent. They raced to 73 runs in the first 6 overs, utilising the fielding restrictions to the fullest. This was CSK’s second-highest power-play score vs MI in IPL, after 90/0 at the same venue in 2015.

Despite losing skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad (22 off 14) in the 3rd over to Allah Ghazanfar, the scoring rate didn’t dip. Sanju Samson and Sarfaraz Khan continued the attack on MI bowlers, smashing both pace and spin. However, Mitchell Santner, after being smashed for 2 fours, got the better of Khan, removing him for 14, bringing Shivam Dube to the crease.

Ghazanfar struck again, removing Shivam Dube in the 9th over for just 5. Samson anchored the innings with a 26-ball fifty, supported by Dewald Brevis (21), before Ashwani Kumar removed Brevis in the 11th over. As the innings progressed to the 15-over mark, CSK reached 149-4. Samson took on the young seamer Krish Bhagat in his first over of the match, smashing him for 15 runs.

However, Jasprit Bumrah in the following over struck back, removing Kartik Sharma for 18 off 19 balls, bringing Jamie Overton to the crease. Overton kick-started his innings with back-to-back boundaries off Ashwani Kumar in the 18th over, but Kumar had the final say, dismissing him off the last ball of the over for 15.

Jasprit Bumrah once again proved crucial for his side, delivering an impressive 19th over that conceded 10 runs. He finished with figures of 1/31. Samson smashed 16 runs off the last over to push CSK past 200. (ANI)