CSK vs DC Highlights, IPL 2026 Match 18: Scorecard & Stats | CSK Won By 23 Runs

Fixture: Chennai Super Kings vs Delhi Capitals
Tournament: Indian Premier League 2026
Match: 18th Match
Date & Time: 11 April 2026, 7:30 PM IST
Venue: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, India
Result: Chennai Super Kings Won By 23 Runs

Match Summary

Chennai Super Kings finally got the win they were waiting for. After a tough start to their IPL 2026 campaign, CSK came out on top at their home ground, the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, defeating Delhi Capitals by 23 runs in Match 18. It was a night the Yellow Army will remember for a long time. Sanju Samson played his best innings of the season so far, and Jamie Overton dismantled Delhi’s batting. Chennai scored 212/2 before bowling Delhi out for 189.

Match Highlights

First Innings — CSK bat first: 212/2 in 20 overs

Delhi Capitals won the toss and asked Chennai to bat first. It seemed like a routine decision, but CSK would have to pay a heavy price for it.

Sanju Samson opens the innings and never looks back. From the very first over, he is in complete control. He drives debutant Oqib Nabi through cover for a boundary and sets the tone immediately. At the other end, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad plays a supporting role, while Samson takes full charge of the powerplay. He scores 45 runs in just 19 balls. CSK ends the powerplay on 61 for no loss.

Gaikwad is out soon after the fielding restrictions end, Axar Patel is out after scoring 15 runs in 18 balls. In comes young Ayush Mhatre, and the fun really starts from this moment.
Samson and Mhatre go for a perfect double. They both score 113 runs in just 67 balls and make it look easy. Delhi dropped both the batsmen in the deep at least once and also missed a run-out chance against Mhatre. These are costly mistakes that Delhi will regret.

Mhatre played a clean, confident innings – 59 runs off 36 balls, hitting 3 fours and 4 sixes. He was retired in the 18th over to make way for big-hitting bowler Shivam Dubey in the final over.

Meanwhile, Samson completes his century in just 51 balls. The crowd goes wild. He remains unbeaten on 115 runs off 56 balls with 15 fours and 4 sixes. This is his fourth IPL century and his first for Chennai Super Kings.

Dubey also joins in the fun and adds 20 runs in just 10 balls to give CSK a flying finish. The total is 212 for 2 – a big score on a batting-friendly pitch.

CSK Batting Scorecard – Key Performers

Second innings – Delhi Chase: 189/10 in 20 overs

Delhi need 213 runs to win. Pathum Nissanka and KL Rahul have given a brilliant start to the chase. The duo scored 61 runs in just 4.5 overs and put CSK under pressure early on. For a moment, it looks like Delhi can actually create an upset.

But then, Khaleel Ahmed strikes Rahul off the last ball of the 5th over. And just like that, the floodgates open. Delhi collapse from 61/0 to 76/4. They lose Nissanka, Rahul, Axar Patel and Sameer Rizvi in ​​successive overs.

Axar Patel’s wicket is very special. He bowls CSK debutant Gurjapaneet Singh off the very first ball of his IPL career – Gurjapaneet becomes the 11th bowler in IPL history to take a wicket off his debut ball. Sarfaraz Khan takes a brilliant catch at point.

David Miller and Tristan Stubbs try to settle down again and add 45 runs for the fifth wicket. But Jamie Overton comes back and bowls Miller to the wicket in the 13th over. The partnership breaks down and Delhi starts to lose control.

Stubbs continues to fight alone – he scores 60 runs off 38 balls, trying his best to keep Delhi in the hunt. But there is not enough support from the other batsmen. Ashutosh Sharma, who was brought in as an impact player, gave Delhi some hope by scoring 19 runs off 10 balls. But when he gets out, Delhi still need 64 runs from 31 balls and have very few wickets left.

Stubbs is finally holed out at mid-off in Overton’s 19th over. This is the final blow. Delhi are all out for 189, 23 runs short of the target.

DC batting scorecard – key performers

CSK Bowling Scorecard — Key Performers

Turning point of the match

The game completely turned around in the 10th over of Delhi’s chase. During the first innings, when Samson was on 52, Pathum Nissanka dismissed Sanju Samson at long-off. That missed opportunity cost Delhi everything. Samson scored another 63 runs before the end of the innings.

And then in the second innings, when Delhi looked dangerous at 61 for no loss, Khaleel Ahmed broke the opening partnership. From that moment on, Delhi lost 4 wickets in just 15 balls and never fully recovered.

Best Batter of the Match

Best Bowler of the Match

Player of the Match

There is no doubt that Sanju Samson got the Player of the Match award. His unbeaten 115 off 56 balls is the kind of innings that can win a match on its own. He hit 15 fours and 4 sixes and kept going till the end. Samson and Mhatre’s 113-run partnership was the foundation of Chennai Super Kings’ big score. This is his first century for Chennai Super Kings and one of the best innings of IPL 2026 so far.

Chennai Super Kings vs DC – Head to Head (IPL)

Note: Chennai Super Kings clearly lead the head-to-head record against Delhi Capitals in IPL history with 20 wins compared to Delhi’s 12.

What the captains said

Winning captain — Ruturaj Gaikwad (CSK):

“Finally it feels good to get this win. Great performance from the whole group. We are batting well and we showed really good signs today. Sanju attacked the opposition and played a great innings. Really proud of the bowling effort too. Chennai fans are always behind us, no matter what – they are just lovely people who are enjoying cricket.”

Losing captain — Axar Patel (DC):

“We started well but after the powerplay we lost two or three wickets quickly. That completely broke the momentum. The difference in fielding was the game-changing moment for me. Wickets kept falling one after the other and that made things very difficult. The batsmen did a good job but the fielding let us down. Chasing 213 was possible but if we had not dropped one or two catches, the result would have been very different.”

Points table update after Match 18

CSK move up to 9th place in the table with their first win. Delhi drop to 4th after their second straight defeat.

Key Match Records and Statistics

• Sanju Samson hits his fourth IPL century – and his first for Chennai Super Kings
• Samson brings up his century in just 51 balls
• Jamie Overton’s 4/18 is the best bowling figure of IPL 2026 so far
• Gurjapaneet Singh becomes the 11th bowler in IPL history to take a wicket on the first ball
• CSK’s Samson-Mhatre’s 113-run partnership off 67 balls is one of the best second-wicket partnerships of the season
• This is CSK’s first win at their home ground after six consecutive defeats at Chepauk
• Delhi dropped three catches in the first innings – all three proved costly

Pitch Report – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai