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In Rohit's Absence, Sanju Samson Keeps His Wankhede Love Story Alive

Cricket Gully | April 24, 2026 3:41 PM CST

The chant 'Mumbai Cha Raja' appears at Wankhede Stadium whenever Rohit Sharma comes to bat. The Hindi and Marathi speakers who do not know these languages will find that this phrase means 'King of Mumbai.' The born in Nagpur baseball player became a true Mumbai boy because he played for the local team and he grew up between Borivali and Borivali. The fans and he both view him as a true Mumbai boy because of his connection to the city.

The hometown star did not play in the match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings which took place on April 23 at Wankhede Stadium. The title would probably not belong to him even if he had played. Sanju Samson has now taken over the center stage which all eyes had been on previously.

Sanju Samson T20 stats:

Span Innings Runs Highest Score Average Strike Rate 100s 50s

Career	2011-	320	8693	119	30.93	139.57	8	54
At Wankhede	2013-	30	949	119	35.14	152.08	2	5

Samson has not achieved his best results at Wankhede because it has become his home ground. The venue has provided Samson with important career moments which he considers significant. He achieved his highest IPL score of 119 against Punjab Kings five years ago. The Rajasthan Royals lost the match by 4 runs despite his performance.

The 2026 T20 World Cup semifinal against England marked his best performance at this stadium when he scored 89 runs from 42 deliveries. The match proved decisive because Jacob Bethell's century brought England close to victory. Samson brought his confidence to Wankhede stadium, which became evident throughout his performance.

The wicketkeeper-batter led CSK to a massive 207-run total with a composed innings. Samson started to play his first match against England through a slow beginning. After three overs, he was on 6 off 6 balls. He prefers to begin with his batting technique, which needs time to establish itself before speed increases. He soon attacked Hardik Pandya for 18 runs and even took on Jasprit Bumrah, finishing the powerplay at 31 off 15 balls.

Samson changed his playing style when multiple teammates got out because Sarfaraz Khan and Shivam Dube and Dewald Brevis had already been dismissed. He achieved his fifty in 26 balls, yet he needed to pause while Kartik Sharma established his bowling pattern. He remained silent until reaching the 15th over, when he began to increase his batting speed.

The match analysis showed that Samson correctly identified Krish Bhagat as the least effective bowler so he used that information to plan his batting strategyagainst Bhagat. He scored 15 runs in the 16th over, played out Bumrah’s final over carefully, and then smashed another 16 runs off Bhagat in the last over to bring up his second IPL 2026 hundred in just 53 balls, finishing with a six.

Samson showed his ability to pick the right shots for his batting performance against top bowlers. He respected the abilities of Bumrah, Allah Ghazanfar, Mitchell Santner, and Ashwani Kumar because he recognized their ability to successfully bowl against him. He scored 52 runs from 36 balls during his performance against them. He achieved better results by attacking Pandya and Bhagat because he scored 49 runs from 18 balls.

His batting statistics showed a strike rate of 144.44 against top bowlers while he achieved a striking rate of 272.22 against weaker opponents. He had the opportunity to take greater risks during the early stages of the game, but he decided to play it safe because he needed to protect his remaining wickets. The choice proved essential because CSK would have lost their 207 score due to his poorly planned approach. This innings shows Samson’s growth and maturity on the big stage.