Prasidh's fiery spell goes in vain as Cooper Connolly writes new chapter in IPL folklore as PBKS beat GT
Prasidh Krishna’s three-wicket burst rattled Punjab Kings, but Cooper Connolly’s composed knock of 72 runs sealed a chase of 163. Gujarat Titans struggled with the bat earlier, as Punjab secured their first IPL 2026 win despite a late scare.
Chasing 163 runs, Punjab Kings had everything under control. The weather, however, changed and so did Gujarat Titan’s fortune. In the 13th over of the match, the Shubman Gill-led side introduced Prasidh Krishna, who single-handedly brought Gujarat back into the contest, which didn’t look like theirs for the majority of the time. The Karnataka pacer picked three quick wickets of Shreyas Iyer, Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis and with that, Gujarat seem to be in control, but the night belonged to Cooper Connolly in the end.
The Australia international batted at number three, ahead of captain Shreyas Iyer and absolutely stole the show. The 22-year-old decimated the Gujarat bowlers early on and when put under pressure, he managed to rotate strike, which allowed Punjab to remain alive in the competition. In the end, he smacked unbeaten 72 runs off 44 balls to get the job done.
Gujarat’s poor batting
Gujarat had a very tough outing with the bat. Their overdependence on the top three, featuring Gill, Sai Sudharsan and Jos Buttler, proved costly as neither of the cricketers could build a long-lasting innings. Gill and Buttler made 39 and 38 runs, respectively but none of the other batters could carry on with the momentum. Wickets fell like a house of cards as Gujarat immediately need to address their batting unit to get back to winning ways.
Vijaykumar Vyshak was the star among the bowlers, claiming three wickets. Spin spinner Yuzvendra Chahal had a good day as well, picking two.
With the ball, Punjab needed a few early breakthroughs. They dismissed Priyansh Arya early but struggled to keep up with the momentum. Connolly capitalised on that, who made his debut in the IPL tonight. He defied the odds and played as per merit to help Punjab win their first game. Gujarat, on the other hand, have plenty of room to improve.
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