“Surreal”. “Unbelievable”. “Phenomenal”.
That was how Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer summed up Cooper Connolly’s performance against Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2026 opener in New Chandigarh. Batting at No. 3 on debut, Connolly produced an unbeaten 72 from 44 balls, guiding PBKS through a chase of 163 that appeared comfortable before turning tense late on.
Connolly walked in during the second over after Priyansh Arya’s early dismissal, at a time when the ball was not coming onto the bat. A light drizzle soon followed, not enough to halt play but sufficient to add pace to the surface.
He began cautiously, scoring five off his first six deliveries, but early intent was evident. A lofted attempt off Mohammed Siraj barely cleared mid-on, but the next short ball allowed him to free his arms and find the midwicket boundary. While timing initially eluded him, his placement stood out.
Taking on pace and spin
Connolly soon found his rhythm. He struck Kagiso Rabada over long-off and later used quick hands to dispatch a 143kph delivery from fellow debutant Ashok Sharma over point for a flat six, moving to 22 off 13 balls.
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Having developed his game in Perth, pace did not pose much of a challenge. The greater test came against spin, particularly when Rashid Khan entered the attack at the end of the powerplay.
Facing Rashid for the first time, Connolly was beaten by his opening delivery while attempting a flick. However, he quickly adjusted, stepping across and powering the next ball past mid-off for four. In Rashid’s following over, a short delivery was pulled over long-on into the second tier for a 103-metre six.
“It was unbelievable,” Iyer said after the match. “One of the best bowlers in the IPL, and to hit him so clearly and neatly, it was simply phenomenal.”
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Connolly continued to dominate the matchup, dispatching a short googly over deep midwicket. Overall, he scored 22 runs from 12 balls against Rashid, who also returned figures of 1 for 7 from his other 12 deliveries.
Calm under pressure
At 110 for 2 after 12 overs, PBKS seemed in full control, needing just 53 more runs. The game shifted when Prasidh Krishna struck, removing Iyer with his first ball and then dismissing Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis in his next over.
From a commanding position, PBKS slipped to 118 for 6, handing momentum to GT. Connolly, however, held firm. With 42 required from 30 balls, he countered by hitting Rabada for a four and a six to steady the chase. He added another boundary off Prasidh and sealed the victory in style, whipping Washington Sundar through the covers for four with two runs needed from six balls.
A timely return to form
Connolly’s performance earned him the Player of the Match award and marked an ideal start to his IPL journey, particularly after a lean run leading into the tournament. He began the 2025-26 BBL strongly with scores of 59 off 31 and 77 off 37, but managed only 73 runs across his next ten innings. During Australia’s tour of Pakistan, he scored just one run in three T20Is, and at the 2026 T20 World Cup, he registered 3 and 11 not out in two appearances.
In the BBL, he contributed with the ball as well, picking up 15 wickets — the joint seventh-highest tally — at an economy rate of 6.40. However, at the IPL, a back issue will prevent him from bowling until the end of April, placing the focus solely on his batting.
Reflecting on his return to form, Connolly said, “I had a couple of weeks at home just to refresh and reset and spend some time with family and friends. And that was probably the point where I changed, and was just like, okay, I am just going to reset and go into the IPL fresh.”
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He struck five sixes in his innings — notably more than the three hit by Gujarat Titans across their entire innings. Speaking about his approach, he added, “I am more of a tempo player. I like to sort of feel the flow in my hands – I don’t try to hit too many big sixes. But working with Ricky [Ponting, the PBKS head coach] has been great. [I made] some slight tweaks that have helped me out over these first five days.”
Although it was only his first game, team-mate Yuzvendra Chahal believes Connolly has already made a strong impression, suggesting he “could be one of the finds of the season”.
Having stated at the auction that he wanted to “leave a legacy at Punjab”, Connolly has taken a convincing first step towards that ambition.
