Sanju\u00a0Samson laid the foundation by bettering his T20 World Cup semifinal heroics at the\u00a0Wankhede\u00a0Stadium with his second hundred of IPL 2026. And\u00a0Akeal\u00a0Hosein\u2019s\u00a0sensational 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.<\/p>\n
Samson\u2019s fifth\u00a0IPL\u00a0hundred, coupled with\u00a0Akeal\u00a0producing arguably the spell of the season, left MI on the mat as\u00a0CSK\u00a0registered a thumping 103-run win. After posting 207 for six,\u00a0CSK\u00a0bundled MI out for 104 in 19 overs with little fuss, the chase never quite taking off.<\/p>\n
Impact Player\u00a0Akeal, drafted in for his new-ball utility, struck immediately. His first over saw\u00a0MI\u2019s Impact Player Danish\u00a0Malewar edge one behind the stumps. Soon after, Quinton de\u00a0Kock\u00a0played on off\u00a0Mukesh\u00a0Choudhary\u00a0\u2014 the pacer gesturing to the heavens in tribute to his mother, who passed away earlier in the week. In his next over,\u00a0Akeal\u00a0spun one in from leg stump to castle\u00a0Naman\u00a0Dhir. At 11 for three, MI was already on the ropes.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Wankhede, packed and loud, found itself outnumbered and\u00a0outvoiced\u00a0by a sea of yellow. The onus fell on Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma but\u00a0Akeal\u00a0returned to break that resistance, sneaking one through\u00a0Tilak\u2019s\u00a0defence. Alongside\u00a0Noor\u00a0Ahmad, he triggered a collapse \u2014 four wickets for three runs off nine balls \u2014 as MI slipped from 84 for three to 87 for seven.\u00a0Shardul\u00a0Thakur, on as a concussion substitute for Mitchell\u00a0Santner, merely delayed the inevitable.<\/p>\n
Earlier, Samson had ensured that\u00a0CSK\u00a0had a big total to defend.\u00a0Ruturaj\u00a0Gaikwad\u00a0started briskly before falling to Allah Ghazanfar while Shivam\u00a0Dube\u00a0struggled for timing. The rest of the top-order maintained strike rates above 150.<\/p>\n
Samson, watchful early, opened up with precision later. On 85 at the start of the final over, he muscled one over deep midwicket off\u00a0Krish\u00a0Bhagat, 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 \u2014 a flourish that helped him celebrate the milestone in style and push MI on the back foot.<\/p>\n
Published on Apr 23, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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