Sanju Samson becomes fastest Indian cricketer in IPL history to achieve this colossal milestone

Sanju Samson has achieved a major milestone with a boundary off Kagiso Rabada in the ongoing IPL 2026 match between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans (GT) on Saturday, April 26, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

There were reports that Sanju Samson would lead Chennai Super Kings in the ongoing IPL 2026 clash against the Gujarat Titans, but captain Ruturaj Gaikwad returned, and the two Indian stars opened the batting at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Sanju Samson joins the 5000-run club in CSK vs GT IPL 2026 clash

Sanju Samson needed only five runs to reach the 5000-run milestone in the IPL, and he achieved this in style in the second over against the Gujarat Titans. The Chennai Super Kings wicketkeeper took 180 innings to join an elite list of legends who have made it to that figure.

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With this, Samson became the seventh fastest to reach this milestone in terms of innings, but when it comes to facing the balls, the CSK star becomes the third-fastest player to reach 5000 IPL runs, taking 3555 balls, just behind AB de Villiers (3288 balls) and David Warner (3554 balls).

In a massive achievement, Samson surpassed Mr. IPL Suresh Raina to become the fastest Indian player to reach 5000 runs in the league in terms of balls. While doing so, the Kerala star overtook Indian icons like MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, and Virat Kohli.

Fewest balls to reach 5000 runs in IPL (Indians)

3555 - Sanju Samson*
3620 - Suresh Raina
3688 - KL Rahul
3691 - MS Dhoni
3817 - Rohit Sharma
3827 - Virat Kohli
3962 - Shikhar Dhawan

Kagiso Rabada shatters CSK's big hope by dismissing dangerous Sanju Samson

However, the CSK star could not survive the lethal Gujarat Titans’ pace attack. Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada were serving Samson up fierce deliveries and putting pressure on him before eventually getting the big fish in the powerplay itself.

It was Rabada who provided the first and crucial breakthrough to the Titans by dismissing the right-handed batter. It was a big wicket, as he was in stunning form and came into this match after scoring a match-winning century against the Mumbai Indians.

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The South African pacer sent a fast ball outside off stump. Samson saw space and tried to hit it hard towards the off side, but he didn’t hit it properly. The ball touched the edge of his bat and went behind. The GT wicketkeeper Jos Buttler ended his stay with a simple catch.

Powerplay nightmare for CSK at Chepauk

Samson’s (11 runs from 15 balls) wicket sparked a mini collapse for CSK. Rabada removed Urvil Patel for 4 runs, while Siraj got the better of Sarfaraz Khan, who was dismissed for a duck. This put the five-time IPL champions under immense pressure at Chepauk.

GT bowlers were so clinical in the powerplay as they conceded only 28 runs and even scalped three wickets in the first six overs against CSK. With this, the Men in Yellow recorded the second lowest powerplay total in the ongoing IPL 2026.