The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) produced arguably their most complete performance of IPL 2026, trouncing the Mumbai Indians (MI) by 103 runs at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Barring a 73-run stand for the third wicket between Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, it was a batting meltdown for the hosts, who capitulated from 84/3 to 104 all out, handing the visitors a thumping win.
One of the stars for CSK was Akeal Hosein, whose spell of 4/17 in four overs broke the back of the hosts’ batting line-up. Speaking about MI’s capitulation in the second innings, he said that while teams can perhaps look evenly-matched on paper, it is who executes the plan on that day that decides the match result.
“I mean, at the end of the day, cricket is played on the day, not on paper. And when you go out as a bowling unit, and you execute as well as you did today, there’s nothing to be surprised about when you see the opposition make such a score. It’s just about, you know, singing praises to the bowling unit. And like I say, once you go out and you hit your straps and you execute, anything is possible,” Hosein said in the post-match press conference.
Before Hosein could play the decisive role with the ball, it was Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 101 runs in 54 balls which took CSK to a score they could defend. The all-rounder praised the 31-year-old for his batting efforts, admitting that him staying until the end was crucial to CSK getting to 207/6 after 20 overs.
“I thought Sanju and a couple of the top-order batters did that very well in particular. You could see Sanju batting to the end. When some people might have thought, you know, he slowed down or stepped off the gas in the middle phase, you know, he knew that as long as we had a set batter there, he could explode in the end. And, you know, that’s exactly what he did. And, you know, kudos to him and a brilliant hundred.”
“At one point, you know, if we kept losing wickets, we could have fell short. We could have scored anyway around 160, 170. So Sanju staying there right till the end and being calculated as well. He knew that they only basically had five bowlers. They had to bring in someone who didn’t get into the game as early as they should. And, you know, he calculated well and took on that new bowler in the end,” he added.
Hosein was also complemented with the ball by Noor Ahmed, who took 2/24 in his four overs. Speaking about his partnership with the wristpinner, he said that the duo spoke about the lengths they had to bowl on different pitches in India.
Story continues below this ad
“I think every pitch is different. Most guys would have turned up today and thinking, you know, it would have been a better because there was grass on the pitch. So for me, taking the first ball, it’s just about, like I said, making that assessment as quickly as possible, understanding what is working, what deliveries are working, what speeds, what lengths, and just trying to pass on that message as quickly as possible to Nor. We know we are a bit different.”
“I’m a fingerspinner. Noor is legspin. So the ball tend to react differently from the surface. But, you know, one thing is that, you know, we share that can work for both of us. It’s just what lengths the ball, what speeds the ball. And, you know, you can take it a step further and just remind your partner that, listen, this is his strengths or weaknesses, or this is what he’s trying to do, or maybe this is a better feel. This might be a harder shot to play. So it’s just about trying to compile all the information as quickly as possible and pass it on to your teammate as clear as possible as well, because sometimes you can sort of lose your way in how you transfer messages. So it’s just about, you know, passing on the message as clear as possible. And we do work well together. So, you know, hopefully long may that continue,” he said.
CSK next take on Gujarat Titans in Chennai on Sunday.
