Sanju Samson has had issues with pace in powerplay.
Sanju Samson has played a few big knocks, but pacers have troubled him in the powerplay at times. He has struck at 162.67, but lost his wicket as many as five times and played around 42.66% false shots against fast bowlers this season. A major reason has been his inability to counter new-ball movement.
Samson has tended to play fuller lengths without any foot movement, forcing his bat towards the ball rather than moving towards it. That’s why the deliveries going away have troubled him massively inside the powerplay. With a significant early swing on offer at almost every venue this season, his issues have compounded, especially against deliveries going away from him.
Sanju Samson’s five powerplay dismissals this season have come against deliveries that swing or seam away. He has scored at only 124.13 and lost his wicket every 5.80 away-going deliveries. He has been in control only 51.72% of the time.
Sanju Samson’s issues have mostly been lengths between 6-8 meters by pacers in the powerplay. He has struck at just 122.58 and lost his wicket four times on these lengths this season. Approximately 51.61% of these balls have resulted in false shots.
One reason has been his premeditation to expect everything to be on the shorter side, which means he never commits himself on the front foot and always remains on the leg side of the ball. However, fuller lengths force him to play earlier than he would want, with insufficient shuffling towards the ball. Hence, he either ends up playing away from the body, resulting in an outside edge, or drags away-going deliveries towards the leg side, missing them completely.
Take the dismissal against Kagiso Rabada in the previous game, for instance. Sanju Samson was initially beaten when he drove without any feet movement, and on the next ball, he ended up staying on the leg side and nicked straight to the wicketkeeper. Similarly, Nandre Burger pitched one slightly on the leg stump and moved the ball away, and Samson ended up playing a wild flick without accounting for the movement, losing his stumps in the opening game.
Lines will again need to be around the channel, and the ball should go away from there to exploit his issues. All five powerplay dismissals have come from deliveries on or just outside off stump. Test match lines and lengths should work against him early on; the pattern is too obvious at this stage.
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In the first six overs, pacers have extracted around 0.67° of median swing in Chennai, the joint-most with Eden Gardens in IPL 2026. On average, the ball has swung 1.06° during the field restrictions at this venue. So, the Mumbai Indians’ pacers will get some early assistance, should they bowl fuller and in weak areas against Sanju Samson.
Trent Boult has relied heavily on yorkers, but will need to revert to his original lengths more in this game. He has dismissed Sanju Samson three times in 27 balls. Meanwhile, Deepak Chahar has also removed him three times, and he could pose a big threat since there will be early movement on offer.
However, the problem with him has been his inability to hit good lengths, and he ends up bowling too full at times. With an average length of 6.04 meters in the first six overs, Chahar has hit the 6-8 meter mark only 29.16% of the time in IPL 2026. Around 33.33% deliveries have been between 4-6 meters, and 12.50% between 2-4 meters.
With Samson, the margin of error will be minimal, and his recent control issues don’t inspire confidence even in helpful conditions. Hardik Pandya shouldn’t bowl in the powerplay after his recent issues. Shardul Thakur might be a decent option, but he can have his vulnerabilities at times, especially due to his erratic lines.
So, Mumbai Indians will again bank on Jasprit Bumrah, who has dismissed the CSK opener twice, to do the job. Bumrah has tended to attempt more yorkers in the powerplay this season – around 15.29% – and hit the good-length areas 32.94% of the time. He will need to increase this figure and form a lethal opening partnership with Trent Boult to send Sanju Samson back early.
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