Cooper Connolly put on an exhibition of six-hitting as he helped the Punjab Kings get their 2026 Tata Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign underway with a three-wicket win over the Gujarat Titans at the New Chandigarh Stadium on Tuesday.
The 22-year-old was part of a trio that included Prabsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer, that struck 11 sixes between them to catapult the Punjab Kings to 165/7. Earlier in the evening, their bowlers had done a splendid job to restrict Gujarat Titans to 162/6 in 20 overs.
Connolly led the charge with an unbeaten 72 runs from 44 balls. His innings featured five fours and as many sixes. The 22-year-old struck more maximums than Gujarat's batters combined. The visitors only managed three sixes.
“Some of the shots that he played were surreal to watch,” Shreyas Iyer, the Punjab Kings captain shared.
This is Connolly's maiden IPL half-century and he faced 34 deliveries to reach the milestone. The 22-year-old Australian walked out to bat in the second over after Kagiso Rabada had dislodged Priyansh Arya with a sharply rising short ball. Connolly stitched a match-winning 76-run second-wicket partnership with Prabhsimran (34).
The pair saw the hosts through the rest of the powerplay without further damage. Prabhsimran's innings ended when he sent a Rashid Khan delivery straight to Prasidh Krishna at long-on. The wicket was the first of five wickets that fell in 5.1 overs. Krishna claimed three of those wickets as he led Gujarat's fightback. Rashid Khan and Washington Sundar took the other two.
Krishna finished the match with three wickets for 29 runs in four overs, while Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Rashid Khan and Washington Sundar took a wicket each.
Connolly, who had watched the collapse from the other end, took control of the chase. He added 26 runs with Marco Jansen, before seeing the Punjab Kings home with an unbroken 21-run eighth-wicket partnership with Xavier Bartlett (11*).
“To put on a show was nice, but it was a team effort,” Connolly, the Player of the Match, said after the contest.
Earlier in the evening, Gujarat started well with the bat but failed to build up to an unassailable total. Their innings progressed in a stop-start fashion that denied them the much-needed momentum to carry into the backend.
“We didn't get going in the last five or six overs, it wasn't a 200 wicket, but if we had 175 it would have been different, but we kept losing wickets and we couldn't get going in the last five overs,” Shubman Gill, the Gujarat captain, shared.
A big reason for that was Vijaykumar Vyshak, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Marco Jansen’s propensity to take wickets at crucial moments. Vyshak was the most successful bowler with three wickets for 34 runs in four overs. Jansen was the most economical with a single wicket for 20 runs in four overs, while Chahal claimed two wickets for 28 runs in four overs.
Shubman Gill top-scored for Gujarat with a 27-ball 39. Jos Buttler showed good form for his 38 from 33 balls. Glenn Phillips added 25 runs, while Washington Sundar (18), Sai Sudharsan (13), and Rahul Tewatia (11*) reached double figures.
GUJARAT TITANS: Shubman Gill (capt), Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Mohammed Siraj.
PUNJAB KINGS: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (capt), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.