Synopsis: In a thriller with a wicked late twist, PBKS’ Connolly emerges the hero after the bowlers’ demolition act A clumsy middle-over meltdown kicked life into what seemed like a canter for Punjab Kings at one stage and ignited hopes of a heist for Gujarat Titans. From 110 for 2, PBKS free-fell to 118 for 6, thanks chiefly to Prasidh Krishna’s three-wicket burst. But IPL debutant Cooper Connolly demonstrated his maturity with an unconquered 72 to help PKBS sneak home by three wickets. Connolly, the hero The blond-haired Australian’s nerves did not snap. From a juncture of absolute control, he saw his side crumble and teeter on the edge. He saw his teammates squander their wickets. He felt the run rate and pressure mounting. But in the 16th over, with PBKS requiring 42 to win from 30 balls on a sluggish deck against a revived bowling group, he counterpunched Kagiso Rabada, one of the most feared bowlers around. He cut the first ball for four to complete his half-century before he fetched a short ball from outside the off-stump through mid-wicket for a six. The 12-run over shifted the momentum and PBKS kept their poise to wrap up the game. Raised in Perth, Connolly idolised the enigmatic stylist Shaun Marsh, whose unfulfilled career sang a parody of his gifts. But Connolly is cast in the mould of Shaun’s brother Mitchell, albeit left-handed, packed with compelling force. He scratched around for fluency, often over-hitting the deliveries. But once he thundered Rabada over long-on with a flat swipe, he hit his straps and unlocked a range of frightful strokes. He slashed, sliced, and slapped his way to a half-century on debut. Cooper Connolly in action. (Express photo by Kamleshwar Singh) The grandest was a thud on the rise off Rashid Khan’s googly. He hung on the back foot and lasered him straight down the track. Even when his team lost wickets in a cluster, he didn’t resort to anything silly. When the moment arrived latched on for his night under the IPL skies. Demolition act The moment the ball spluttered from the inside half of Jos Buttler’s bat, Yuzvendra Chahal turned towards the long-on fielder with his index finger raised. The ball almost cleared the fence but for the enormous palms of the tall Xavier Bartlett. The Englishman’s wicket broke the back of Gujarat Titans. It was his slightly quicker ball, into the pads, stifling his bat-swing. It was another glimpse of the guiles Punjab’s bowlers wielded in Mullanpur. By combination, they are a diverse group. Both their left-arm seamers, Arshdeep Singh and Marco Jansen, are different. Marco Jansen’s biggest gift, batsmen would presume, is his height. The steep bounce he coaxes from the nearly two-metre-high release discomfits batsmen, but his mastery of various lengths torments them more. He hits the hard-lengths with as much dexterity as he makes the good-length ball deviate off the surface. The bouncers are measured. On a surface with variable bounce and a bit of grip, he loomed like an intimidating lighthouse. His four overs cost merely 20 runs. The wicket of Sai Sudharsan, after a breezy start of 37 in 3.3 overs, shifted the momentum. He stifled both Buttler and Gill, both futilely manufacturing jailbreak shots.Story continues below this ad Punjab Kings in action. (Express photo Kamleshwar Singh) His southpaw associate, whose extras-ridden last over bloated the final analysis, brought slippery pace allied with sharp seam movement either way. He is stacked with new-age weapons like the slow-bouncer, which he employed to telling effect against Washington Sundar, and the knuckle-ball, besides death bowlers’ eternal friend, the yorker. The pair of right medium pacers are similar yet different. Bartlett and Vijaykumar Vyshak primarily trade the hard length and push the ball upwards for slower balls. Whereas Bartlett uses the conventional diction of cutters, Vyshak disguises it differently. The action and release points are the same, but for the pace-dippers, he keeps the ball deep inside his palms. The method foxed Glenn Phillips, who with Buttler was re-injecting momentum, and Washington Sundar, labouring to accelerate at the death. The axis that held them together was Chahal. He is leg-spin’s tinkerman, constantly changing his angles, release points, pace and variations. He conned Shubman Gill with a sudden reduction of pace. The balls preceding his dismissal clocked 84.7kph and 86.3 kph, but the wicket ball came at 78.7 and a scratchy Gill miscued a slog-sweep. He flummoxed Buttler numerous times with his drop and angles, before he finally nailed him. The score was then 129 for four, and Titans innings folded out for a modest 162 for 6. PBKS almost made a mess of it, but for a debuting West Australian.
Making of an IPL star: Cooper Connolly holds his nerve to produce a match-winning knock for Punjab Kings
