Connolly leads Punjab to a 3-wicket win over Gujarat in his IPL debut

CHANDIGARH, India (AP) — Cooper Connolly marked his Indian Premier League debut with an unbeaten half-century in Punjab Kings’ three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans on Tuesday.

Batting at No. 3, the 22-year-old Australian smashed 72 not out off 44 balls with five sixes and five fours as last year’s finalist survived a middle-order collapse to reach 165-7 with five balls to spare.

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Fast bowler Vijayakumar Vyshak (3-34) and experienced spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2-28) had earlier bowled well in the middle overs to restrict Gujarat to 162-6 after Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to field.

“I was looking forward to the experience of playing with some world-class players, but to put that performance in tonight, very happy,” Connolly said. “I’m just more of a tempo player, feel the flow of my hands, don’t hit too many big sixes.”

Punjab had the chase under control at 110-2 in 12 overs before impact substitute Prasidh Krishna rattled the middle order with three wickets in 10 balls and the home team slumped to 118-6 in the 15th over.

But Connolly didn’t lose patience with wickets falling around him provided Punjab a winning start to the tournament.

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Krishna ignited the collapse when Iyer clipped a straightforward catch to mid-wicket of the first ball he faced after he was struck hard on his hand at the non-striker by a hard drive from Connolly and needed on-field treatment.

Shashank Singh was undone by a sharp short ball and got a faint edge behind the wicket while Marcus Stoinis sliced a catch to Rashid Khan at third of another short delivery.

Marco Jansen smashed a six but got deceived by a slower delivery from Gujarat debutant Ashok Sharma and offered a tame catch at covers with Punjab still needing 19 runs for victory.

Xavier Bartlett (11 not out) eased the nerves when he pulled Krishna for a six over mid-wicket before Connolly guided Punjab to victory.

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Earlier, skipper Shubman Gill top-scored with 39 off 27 balls, but none of the top-order Gujarat batters could convert starts into meaningful knocks. Gill started off well with his fluent boundaries in the…

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Publish date : 2026-03-31 18:44:00

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