IPL 2026: ‘It’s about doing your homework as fast as possible’

CSK’s Akeal Hosein during his 4-17 against MI on Thursday. PIC/ATUL KAMBLE

Opener Sanju Samson and left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein were the two chief architects of Chennai Super Kings's (CSK) big 103-run win over Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Samson scored an unbeaten 101 off 54 balls to help his team post 207-6. And then Hosein, who opened the bowling attack, claimed 4-17. The West Indies spinner revealed the secret of his success on the red-soil Wankhede pitch, on which MI's Kiwi left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner paled in comparison, with figures of 1-44.

"I have been trying to pick the coaches' and players' brains on red soil, black soil, what it does, and which deliveries work. I was pretty happy with how I went about it today [Thursday], because it can be a bit challenging if you do not adapt to the conditions quickly. Some deliveries come on a bit slower, some surfaces react differently. It is about just trying to do your homework as fast as possible," Hosein said during the post-match press conference.

He also lavished praise on Samson's century knock. Hosein said: "We had a great Powerplay, but we lost three wickets later and going in the middle overs, [we were] not sure whether to accelerate or slow down. At one point, if we kept losing wickets, we could have fallen short and scored 160-70. Sanju was calculative, and he stayed till the end, taking on the new bowler in the end."