Sanju Samson's electrifying second century not only led to a dominant victory over the Mumbai Indians but also sparked a remarkable surge in CSK fan support, transforming the Wankhede stadium into a sea of yellow.
Sanju Samson seems to be swelling the number of Chennai Super Kings fans at every stadium during the Indian Premier League 2026 edition.
His second century for CSK on Thursday (April 23, 2026) at the Wankhede stadium, in his team's 103-run win over Mumbai Indians, resulted in chants of 'CSK! CSK!', outscoring the MI fans' roar.
Sanju created more occasions for his team's fans to rejoice, and it was surprising to see the huge number of CSK fans, in their yellow colours, in the stands.
When a batter scores over 48 percent of his team's total, as Sanju did while scoring his unbeaten 101 in CSK's total of 207 for 6, he is bound to win fans.
After Sanju's Player of the Tournament performance in India's recent T20 World Cup triumph, Sanju Samson's fan club base has swelled.
T20 fans enjoy any batter who thrills them with sixes and boundaries, and Sanju's innings was made up of 10 boundaries and six sixes.
The confidence with which he moved to his century was spectacular because, at the start of the last over (20th), his score was only 85, but he hit two sixes and a last-ball boundary to record his fifth IPL century.
His knock was a masterclass in timing and authority. When Sanju gets into his rhythm, it is no wonder he has earned many firsts.
His 54-ball knock made him the first CSK player to score a century against MI.
He is now the first Indian player to score two centuries for CSK in a single IPL season.
Not only that, he is now the first wicket-keeper-batter in IPL history to hit two centuries in a single edition.
One question that comes to mind when watching him was whether he plays his shots by instinct or design.
Whatever be the case, his shots were controlled, with the ball bursting beyond the fence and sailing into the crowd.
At the end of it, MI suffered their largest-ever loss by runs in IPL history (103 runs) and their biggest thrashing at the Wankhede stadium.
After bagging the Player of the Match award, Sanju's remarks were noteworthy.
He said he does not come in to bat with a preconceived mindset or premeditate how he would play or what he wants to do.
All he wants is to enjoy what is going on in the moment. He candidly admitted that he was wearing yellow for the first time, and that it was all very new for him.
He expressed surprise at seeing so much yellow at the Wankhede, something he had never seen before.
The reason is simple: Fans love Sanju when he is enjoying his batting in the middle.
He does not dominate the bowlers but thrills the crowd. So it would not be surprising that in the coming matches anywhere, the number of fans in yellow keeps increasing.
Chants like 'CSK! CSK!' will swell and the name 'Sanju! Sanju!' will echo louder and longer.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff