Sanju Samson broke MS Dhoni’s all-time IPL record for most runs scored by a designated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) wicketkeeper against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Chepauk on Monday (May 18). Dhoni scored 461 runs in 16 innings in the 2013 season. Samson needed only 12 to go past that, and the Kerala star took only six balls for it, scoring 15 runs against Nitish Kumar Reddy’s first over of the match.
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He looked in serious form after that too, hitting three consecutive boundaries against Praful Hinge in the second over. Samson was batting at a rapid 11-ball 27 when SRH captain Pat Cummins brought himself into the attack. The Australian set up Samson with a yorker on the first ball that the right-hander
had to dig out, followed by a sucker ball outside off that invited a loose drive and an edge for an easy caught-behind.
Most runs in a season for a CSK wicketkeeper (designated)
Dhoni’s dominance of CSK’s gloves has been such that Samson is the only other name in the top-10 of this list. In fact, only three wicketkeepers have ever scored more than 100 runs for CSK in a season: Dhoni, Parthiv Patel (2008), and now Samson.
| Player | Runs | Season | Innings Batted | Average | Strike Rate | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanju Samson | 477 | 2026 | 13 | 47.7 | 166.2 | 2 | 1 |
| MS Dhoni | 461 | 2013 | 16 | 41.9 | 162.89 | 0 | 4 |
| MS Dhoni | 455 | 2018 | 15 | 75.83 | 150.66 | 0 | 3 |
| MS Dhoni | 416 | 2019 | 12 | 83.2 | 134.62 | 0 | 3 |
| MS Dhoni | 392 | 2011 | 13 | 43.55 | 158.7 | 0 | 2 |
| MS Dhoni | 372 | 2015 | 17 | 31 | 121.96 | 0 | 1 |
| MS Dhoni | 371 | 2014 | 15 | 74.2 | 148.4 | 0 | 1 |
| MS Dhoni | 358 | 2012 | 17 | 29.83 | 128.77 | 0 | 1 |
| MS Dhoni | 332 | 2007/08 | 10 | 47.42 | 131.74 | 0 | 2 |
| MS Dhoni | 296 | 2009 | 12 | 42.28 | 125.95 | 0 | 2 |
Either one of Samson and Gaikwad getting out has been a big issue for CSK this year. The duo averages 25.84 after 13 partnerships — the seventh-worst for any opening partnership in IPL after 10 innings together.
For CSK, they are inarguably the worst opening stand yet, which needs to get better if the franchise is to have any chance of winning their sixth title this year. If this poor pairing continues, CSK might need to rethink the combination and consider dropping Gaikwad to number three.
