Scores in brief: Punjab Kings (165/7 in 19.2 overs) beat Gujarat Titans (162/6) by three wickets in Mullanpur. Connolly (60*), Prasidh (3/14)
Cooper Connolly made a debut to remember, producing a composed half-century to lead Punjab Kings to a thrilling three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2026 opener in Mullanpur. The 22-year-old Australian held the innings together in a tricky chase of 163, keeping his composure as wickets fell in bunches around him and ensuring PBKS stayed on course when the game threatened to drift.
Read the full article
PBKS vs GT, IPL 2026: Update | Scorecard
The initial pattern of IPL 2026 continued, with the chasing side and the team winning the toss, making it four for four. Still, unlike previous head-to-head chases, this one tested Punjab’s nerves. A late wobble briefly changed Gujarat’s momentum, but Connolly’s calm presence proved decisive as PBKS cruised through in the season’s first real thriller.
Chasing a modest 164 for victory earlier in the season, Punjab Kings were jolted early when Kagiso Rabada quickly removed Priyansh Arya. It was hard, fast and onto the pitch at 142kph, climbing into the body and rushing the opener on the pull. Arya, who hit a six in the opening over, tried to continue the attack but was beaten.
Rabada’s next over proved costly. Once he put it on fuller, the room for error disappeared. He was taken for two sixes, including one off the slower ball. Then it went short but was slightly wide and carved through the deep third. Three sixes came.
At the other end, Connolly and Prabhsimran Singh looked an assured duo, picking the right balls to go big. The stroke play was guaranteed with some excellent strokes, none better than Ashok Sharma’s whipping chop over cover.
Prabhsimran survived an LBW call thanks to DRS and just when he seemed to have settled, he got down on one knee and belted the spinner over long-on. Almost immediately after, Connolly pumped a big hit through long-on. Punjab hit their seventh six in the eighth over, while Gujarat Titans managed just three in the entire innings.
This is where Rashid Khan came into play. He enjoys batting and he showed why. Prabhsimran, who looked in control, stepped out of his crease to go straight against the spinner but pulled himself out. It was a disappointing end to a promising start. He faced eight balls from Rashid and scored just two runs. He started with two moves and was even hit on the hands at the non-striker’s end before falling as he tried to clear midwicket off a half-volley.
Punjab needed 54 off 47 deliveries with light drizzle as the innings began to lose shape. Nehal Wadhera fell soon after in a quiet dismissal, he tried to lift one over short cover but was found by Shubman Gill. The game threatened to turn.
Shashank Singh then fell to Prasidh Krishna, caught behind as he tried to guide the ball into deep third. There was no clear pattern of layoffs. It started drizzling and the ball kept finding the fielder. Punjab slumped to 118 for 5, needing 45 from 34 balls.
The collapse, as is often the case, followed no obvious script. Marcus Stoinis fell past Prasidh and drove a short delivery to deep third. Four wickets fell for just eight runs in the space of 16 balls, a crucial phase of the match. Gujarat Titans moved ahead at DLS after 14.4 overs, with an even score of 120 and Punjab 118.
Earlier, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal put his experience to the fore to dominate the middle overs and help restrict Gujarat Titans to 162 for 6 on a good batting surface. Chahal returned figures of 2 for 28 in four overs while seamer Vijaykumar Vyshak took 3 for 34.
Skipper Gill scored 39 off 27 balls and Jos Buttler 38 off 33, the two main contributors in an otherwise subdued batting line-up.
Sent in to bat, Gill got off to a fluent start and dealt boundaries as Gujarat raced to 35 in three overs. He looked superb, picking gaps at will and scoring at a blistering pace, forcing Punjab captain Shreyas Iyer to make an early change to introduce Marc Jansen.
The move paid off immediately as Jansen had Sai Sudharsan caught at mid-off. Sudharsan tried to lift the ball over mid-on but sliced it straight to Iyer, giving Punjab the much-needed breakthrough in the fourth over.
That brought Buttler to the crease and the England batsman got off the mark in style to drive Vijaykumar Vyshak through covers for a boundary. The shot seemed to calm him down. He followed it up by cutting through reverse point from Jansen and then hit the first six of the match as he bore Vyshak straight down the ground when the seamer failed to execute the slower ball.
Gujarat ended the powerplay at 54 for 1, with Punjab pulling things back after conceding freely in the first three overs.
Chahal came into the attack in the eighth over and continued his strong record against Gill. After dismissing him thrice in previous IPL encounters, he added another when the Gujarat skipper dug in at deep mid-wicket after being fooled by a slightly slower delivery that didn’t go far enough.
Glenn Phillips struck short and hit Chahal over long-on for a six, while Buttler also cleared a short mid-on ball from Xavier Bartlett. However, Punjab tightened their grip through the middle overs and ensured that Gujarat never completely broke free.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– The end
Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
31 March 2026 23:33 IST
