Ice-cool Connolly leads nervy PBKS home on IPL debut
Prasidh Krishna's wickets caused a late wobble, but Connolly's unbeaten 72 steered PBKS home
Prasidh Krishna's wickets caused a late wobble, but Connolly's unbeaten 72 steered PBKS home
Scorer: Chetan Kumar | Commentator: George Binoy
Four wins in four games for the home team, four wins in four games for the chasing team, four wins in four games for the team that's won the toss. That's been the pattern so far in IPL 2026. Unlike the previous three chases, though, which were extremely one-sided, PBKS had a few nervous moments in tonight's chase.
Shubman Gill: "I think we bowled pretty well, we didn't get going in the last five or six overs (with the bat), 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 ... once the ball got older it was difficult to hit down the ground, there was no pace on the wicket ... when we were bowling, with the rain coming down it did not stop as much in the second innings, we did well with the bowling.
"I could have got Prasidh on earlier, but we were in the game until the end, there will always be ifs and buts ... Ashok bowled pretty well up front and in the back, as he plays more and gets more experience he will be of value for us. He works very hard on his game, he's a good fielder for us, I met him at a camp a couple of months ago and was very impressed."
Shrikant : "Perplexing bowling strategy. Prasiddh introduced after twelve overs and Siraj bowling only 2 overs. A lot to ponder over batting strategy and bowling strategy "
KM: " 1 on what Alex said. GT team is fine for par 160-180 type surfaces where their top 3 maximizes the odds of getting median scores that fall in that range. But for flatter surfaces, being *that* top-heavy also hinders the top order's ability to slog in the powerplay. "
Time for the presentation ...
Shreyas Iyer: All I can say about the hand is that it's nice, same as it was before, I don't want to jinx anything ... Some of the shots he (Cooper Connolly) played was surreal to watch, especially the one off Rashid ... I was focused on my hand inside, icing it, suddenly we lost two wickets back to back, these things happen in the IPL, you have to stay composed, Cooper was there, he was composed and calm ... After the third over we realised the wicket is slow, Arshdeep came and said it was holding a bit, we tried to make the ball old as soon as possible. Vyshak is carrying forward the form he performed in the last season, he is a big match player ... I was surprised to see a short leg for me, I told Shubman I had never seen that before, it's good to see captains attacking.
Cooper Connolly is the player of the match: "I was looking forward to the experience of playing with some world class players, but to put that performance in tonight, very happy. I spent some time with friends and family at home before this just to reset. I'm just more of a tempo player, feel the flow of my hands, don't hit too many big sixes ... working with Ricky is great. Not a lot was said, we were quite relaxed, in a great position out there, nice to get the win with Xavier, looking forward to the rest of the tournament. That was the first time I played Rashid Khan, was nice to get the win."
That brings us to the end of our live coverage of the game. Thank you for staying with us, and writing in. Until tomorrow, good night.
alex: "14 to 3 sixes tells a story. Even with all those extras in Ashdeep's epic last over... GT only managed a pathetic 31 in the final overs phase due to lack of batting depth... Holder a must for Rabada... especially when Ashok has come back well and Siraj has only bowled 2 overs..."
AJ: "Finally a good close game we were all waiting for after all the one sided affairs so far. " Not as close as T20 games should be, but I'll take it!
Bowling more cross-seam deliveries and keeping the yorker away is the reason for Kagiso Rabada not doing well at the death, agree Ambati Rayudu and Dale Steyn
Cooper Connolly's innings against Gujarat Titans on Tuesday was equal parts audacity and maturity, and entirely game-changing
PBKS chipped away regularly at the wickets, as three of GT's top four got to 25 without any of them getting to 40
Glenn Phillips, meanwhile, makes his franchise debut for GT
Prasidh Krishna's wickets caused a late wobble, but Connolly's unbeaten 72 steered PBKS home