On March 8, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Sanju Samson were all on the same side as India won a historic T20 World Cup. Fast forward to April 23, Hardik, Suryakumar and Bumrah were in MI while Samson was in CSK as they faced off in Match 33 of IPL 2026.

The day belonged to Samson as he slammed 101 not out from 54 balls with 10 fours and six sixes to help CSK amass 207/6. The bowlers then bundled MI out in their own backyard for just 103. But it was the gesture shown by MI to Samson after his marathon knock that showed sportsman spirit still existed.

© X/IPL

Bumrah shook hands with Samson while Hardik patted him on the shoulder and Suryakumar gave him a warm hug. Samson had initially struggled in this edition of the IPL but two 100s have propelled him to 3rd spot among the top run getters. At the moment, Samson has 293 runs in seven innings at an average of 58.60 and a strike rate of 178.66.

The gesture from the MI players showed that the knock left them in awe. While they were bruised and battered, it did not stop their main players from appreciating a good knock. Other than the MI players, CSK’s Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shivam Dube also congratulated Samson.

After the innings ended, everyone from the Mumbai dugout. Hardik, Surya, Bumrah, Gaikwad and Dube, congratulated Sanju with a smile on their faces.

Literally, every player who has played with Sanju wants him to succeed. This shows what a gem of a person Sanju Samson is. pic.twitter.com/JEl7mqUkJk

— Selfless⁴⁵ (@SelflessCricket) April 23, 2026

The win helped CSK jump to fifth place on the points table with seven games left in their league phase. MI are in 8th position. CSK’s next outing is vs GT on April 26 while MI take on SRH on April 29.

There are 37 games left in the league phase of IPL 2026 and so far no side is out of the Playoffs race nor has any team confirmed a spot. So all four slots are up for grabs and all 10 franchises are fighting for a place.