Chennai Super Kings batter Sanju Samson added yet another landmark to his IPL resume during Sunday’s clash against Gujarat Titans at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Samson became the quickest Indian to reach 5,000 runs in the league, striking the milestone early and fashioning a new record before his innings was cut short.
Samson’s 5,000th IPL run: the fastest among Indians
With only three runs required to hit the landmark, Samson reached 5,000 in the second over of CSK’s innings. He struck a wide delivery from Kagiso Rabada through the point region for a boundary, taking him to the mark immediately.
- Samson became the fastest Indian batter to 5,000 IPL runs.
- He was the 10th batter in IPL history to reach 5,000 runs, and the eighth overall.
- It took him 3,555 deliveries to get to 5,000, making him the third-fastest batter in IPL history to the milestone.
- Only AB de Villiers (3,288 balls) and David Warner (3,554 balls) reached 5,000 in fewer balls.
- Among Indian batters, he was the quickest to the milestone, surpassing Suresh Raina (3,620 balls), KL Rahul (3,688 balls) and MS Dhoni (3,691 balls).
Innings ends early as Rabada strikes again
Despite the milestone, Samson’s stay at the crease was brief. Gujarat Titans struck in the fourth over when Rabada dismissed him.
Rabada sent down another outside-off ball, and Samson looked to cut it away through the off-side while staying leg-side. However, the shot produced only an outside edge, and Jos Buttler collected the catch with ease. Samson departed for 11 runs off 15 deliveries.
Build-up to the landmark: form and season milestones
The innings arrived only days after Samson struck a century against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede. That knock was his second hundred of the IPL season.
- Earlier in the season, he made 115 not out versus Delhi Capitals in Chennai on April 11.
- His century against Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede came just days before this match.
- This was the first time Samson scored two centuries in a single IPL season.
- It also lifted his career T20 total to eight hundreds, the second-most by an Indian batter after Virat Kohli and Abhishek Sharma, who have nine each.
Samson’s numbers for CSK this season
Even with the early dismissal, Samson’s season to date remained impressive. In eight matches for CSK, he has amassed 298 runs.
- Runs: 298
- Matches: 8
- Average: 59.60
- Strike rate: 172.2
