Connolly's 107 in Vain as PBKS Lose by 33 to SRH in IPL Thriller

Connolly was the lone hero in their chase as he stayed unbeaten at the crease for 107 runs off 59 balls, including eight sixes and seven fours. He became the youngest overseas player to score a ton in the IPL, as per a CricViz stat.

A top-order collapse and disciplined bowling from the SRH captaincy ensured the "Orange Army" secured a vital victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Chasing a daunting target of 236, Punjab's innings began in the worst possible fashion. The visitors lost three wickets within the first four overs, effectively derailing the chase before it could find any rhythm. Priyansh Arya (1) was the first to fall in the opening over. Prabhsimran Singh (3) followed immediately after, caught by Pat Cummins off the bowling of Nitish Kumar Reddy. Then came the match-defining moment when skipper Shreyas Iyer (5) was dismissed by Eshan Malinga, leaving PBKS reeling at 23/3 in 3.2 overs.

While wickets tumbled around him, 22-year-old Cooper Connolly played an innings for the ages. Connolly smashed his maiden IPL century, scoring 107 off 59 balls. Connolly found briefly effective partners in Marcus Stoinis (28 off 14) and Suryansh Shedge (25 off 17), but the required run rate--which hovered above 15 for most of the innings--proved too high to manage alone.

After Stoinis' wicket in the seventh over, Connolly formed a 47-run partnership with Suryansh Shedge. However, Cummins got rid of Shedge in the 12th over, reducing PBKS to 114/5. Shashank Singh (5) got out without contributing much, but Marco Jansen tried with a 16-ball 19-run innings, stitching together a partnership of 68 runs with Connolly.

However, the PBKS batters were left to do the impossible as they needed 49 off the last over. Connolly brought up his maiden IPL century in 57 balls as PBKS finished at 202/7, losing by 33 runs.

Coming to SRH's bowling, Pat Cummins rotated his bowlers effectively to ensure PBKS never gained the momentum needed for a miracle. Cummins (2/34), Shivang Kumar (2/45), Sakib Hussain (1/40) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/11 in 2 overs) were the wicket takers for the hosts.

The win propels SRH to the top spot in the IPL 2026 standings as they now have seven wins in 11 matches and 14 points to their name. PBKS are second with six wins and three losses in 10 matches.

Earlier, Klaasen (69 runs off 43 balls) and Kishan (55 runs off 32 balls) scored crucial fifties after openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma gave them a solid start. For the PBKS bowlers, it was a tough outing as only Yuzvendra Chahal managed to go for anything under 10 runs per over.

Despite PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer winning the toss and opting to bowl first, the decision backfired as the SRH batters feasted on a flat Uppal deck.

The "Orange Army" openers set the tone from the very first over. Abhishek Sharma (35 off 13) and Travis Head (38 off 19) attacked the PBKS bowlers with disdain.

Abhishek looked particularly dangerous, striking four sixes before falling to Lockie Ferguson in the 4th over. By the end of the Powerplay, SRH had already raced to 79/1, establishing a dominant run rate of over 13 per over.

Yuzvendra Chahal got rid of Travis Head, but not before he had made sure that SRH got a brilliant start, with a 38-run knock. After seven overs, SRH were 86/2.

Following the departure of the openers, Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen took charge of the innings. Kishan, who survived three dropped catches, made the most of his lifelines to smash a blistering 55 off 32 balls, slamming four sixes and two boundaries.

Klaasen, the primary aggressor in the latter half, played a masterclass in power-hitting. He reached his fifty in 32 deliveries and finished unbeaten on 69 off 43 balls, peppered with four sixes and three fours. Together, Klaasen and Kishan stitched an 88-run partnership off 48 balls.

A late-innings cameo from Nitish Kumar Reddy (29* off 13) ensured the momentum never shifted, as the duo shared a 63-run partnership off just 32 balls to close the innings.

It was a challenging evening for the Punjab bowling unit. Marco Jansen was the most expensive, conceding 61 runs in his four-over spell without a wicket. Yuzvendra Chahal was the only bowler to exert some control, finishing with figures of 1/32. Arshdeep Singh, Lockie Ferguson, and Vijaykumar Vyshak managed one wicket apiece but were unable to stem the flow of runs during the death overs.

- ANI