Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Sanju Samson became only the fourth Indian to hit 400 sixes in the T20 format while batting against Delhi Capitals in IPL 2026 on Saturday (April 11). He joined Rohit Sharma (554), Virat Kohli (440), and Suryakumar Yadav (421) in the list.
Samson remained not out at 115 (56) — his second-highest in the format — in the first innings as CSK scored 212/2 in 20 overs. His knock included 15 boundaries and four sixes. His pace of hitting sixes (1.26 sixes/innings) is the best in the top-four, ahead of Rohit (1.22 /innings), Kohli (1.10 /innings) and Suryakumar (1.25/innings).
Most sixes for Indian cricketers in T20s:
| Player | Span | Matches | Innings | Runs | Highest Score | 100s | 50s | Sixes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma | 2007-2026 | 465 | 452 | 12,361 | 121* | 8 | 83 | 554 |
| Virat Kohli | 2007-2026 | 415 | 398 | 13,612 | 122* | 9 | 106 | 440 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 2010-2026 | 362 | 336 | 9,526 | 117 | 6 | 64 | 421 |
| Sanju Samson | 2011-2026 | 333 | 316 | 8,528 | 119 | 7 | 54 | 400 |
| Mahendra Singh Dhoni | 2006-2025 | 405 | 355 | 7,628 | 84* | 0 | 28 | 350 |
| Hardik Pandya | 2013-2026 | 329 | 285 | 6,156 | 91 | 0 | 26 | 333 |
| Lokesh Rahul | 2013-2026 | 241 | 228 | 8,126 | 132* | 7 | 68 | 332 |
| Abhishek Sharma | 2018-2026 | 183 | 179 | 5,296 | 148 | 8 | 32 | 329 |
| Suresh Raina | 2006-2021 | 336 | 319 | 8,654 | 126* | 4 | 53 | 325 |
| Ishan Kishan | 2014-2026 | 231 | 222 | 6,413 | 113* | 7 | 36 | 311 |
It was a very important knock for Samson’s career. He had gotten off to a false start in CSK colors, with three consecutive single-digit scores.
He started aggressively in front of the home CSK crowd, even as skipper and his opening partner Ruturaj Gaikwad played a poor hand of 15 (18) on the other end.
This was the kind of knock Samson showed three times on the trot for India in the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he came in the middle of the campaign and ended up as the Player of the Tournament.
“I think how much ever form you are in, how much ever matches you have won for your country, a couple of failures definitely put a lot of doubts in your mind,” Samson said in the mid-innings break. “But I just wanted to go back and do my basics and believe in myself and just stick to my scoring patterns, actually. So a lot of thoughts came, I think, should I go harder in the start, or should I change my game plan? But I definitely want to stick to what was working, and luckily it came off beautifully today. I think great wicket. I think thanks to the curator for making a lovely wicket today. So hopefully we can defend the total,” he added.
