You expect him to get a hundred

Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has stated that Sanju Samson has matured so much as a batter in recent months that one literally expects him to get a hundred once he gets his eye in. Jaffer added that the Kerala cricketer seems to have learnt the act of pacing his innings.

Samson was the batting hero as CSK thumped Delhi Capitals (DC) by 23 runs in match number 18 of IPL 2026 at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday, April 11. Batting first, CSK posted 212-2 as Samson slammed a brilliant 115* off 56 balls and then held DC to 189.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Jaffer praised the new version of Samson and went on to comment:

“He has matured a lot. Now, I think when Sanju plays, you expect him to get a hundred. Even though he missed a couple of hundreds in the T20 World Cup, now when he gets going, he paces his innings so well. In the last 15-20 innings in international cricket, I think he has got three or four hundreds, or somewhere close to that, which is amazing.”

Samson struck 15 fours and four sixes in his unbeaten knock against DC on Saturday. In CSK‘s earlier three matches, he had registered single-digit scores of 6, 7 & 9, respectively.

“The monkey’s off his back now” – Aaron Finch on Samson’s ton

According to former Australian captain Aaron Finch, Samson can play a lot more freely now that he has got his first big score for CSK. Sharing his thoughts over the pressure on the star batter after his much-hyped trade deal, Finch commented:

“The monkey’s off his back now. It’s never easy walking into a new franchise, particularly with the expectations that Sanju has come with. It just sets up your middle order so much better, when you have got the ability to inject Shivam Dube when you want. Mhatre, he comes in and plays aggressively because they have got off to a decent start. He’s batting with a guy who looks in total control of his game.”

While Samson hit a stunning ton against DC, young Ayush Mhatre scored 59 off 36 balls. Shivam Dube also chipped in with a breezy cameo – 20* off 10. With the ball, Jamie Overton starred with 4-18, while Anshul Kamboj claimed 3-35.