Sanju plays another Samson knock but falls 2 short of fifty on Vishu eve

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) ace Sanju Samson so nearly produced another masterclass but fell two runs short of his 27th IPL fifty against Kolkata Knight Riders in Chennai on Tuesday.

A super quick delivery from Kartik Tyagi rattled the stumps as Sanju failed to pick the line for once. He made 48 off 32, hitting four boundaries and three sixes.

It was still an impressive effort that powered the hosts to 111/3 in 11.2 overs. Sanju and Ayush Mhatre (38 off 17) took CSK to 72/1 in 5.5 overs before Arora removed the youngster.

Sanju had made a blazing start, which reassured his fans that he was in the mood for a big knock, just four days after smashing an unbeaten 115, his first century in CSK colours.

Sanju began by hitting Vaibhav Arora for a hat-trick of fours from the off, twice past short third and one whipped through the point.

Sanju had lifted Tyagi for a six in his first over and smashed another over long off shortly before the dismissal. It was Tyagi's pace, which the TV showed at 148 kph, which probably took Sanju by surprise.

Nevertheless, Sanju had given his Malayali fans another memorable innings on the eve of Vishu, a regional festival in Kerala that symbolises fresh beginnings.

CSK won the match by 32 runs after posting 192/5. KKR were restricted to 160/7 in 20 overs, with Noor Ahmad bagging 3/21 and Anshul Kamboj claiming 2/32.