IPL debutant Cooper Connolly slammed a blistering 72 off 44 as he guided Punjab Kings to a 3-wicket win against the Gujarat Titans on Tuesday at Mullanpur. Connolly, along with Prabhsimran Singh, were the two bright spots in Punjab’s batting as most of their big hitters failed to get going. Gujarat’s impact player Prasidh Krishna snapped up 3 wickets and gave them a glimmer of hope but it was ultimately for naught.
Earlier, Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal brought his years of experience to the fore to help Punjab Kings stymie Gujarat Titans in the middle overs, limiting them to 162/6.
Chahal ended with fine figures of 2/28 in four overs, while seamer Vijaykumar Vyshak grabbed 3/34.
Skipper Shubman Gill (39 off 27 balls) and Jos Buttler (38 off 33 balls) were the chief contributors for GT in an insipid batting display.
Sent in to bat first, Gill dealt in boundaries as the side raced to 35 in three overs.
Gill looked in sublime touch as he picked the gaps at will to score at a good clip, forcing PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer to effect a bowling change and introduce the tall Marco Jansen (1/20 in 4 overs) into the attack.
The move paid dividends straightaway as left-arm pacer Jansen got Sai Sudharsan (13) to slice one straight towards mid-off where Shreyas completed a simple catch.
Sudharsan appeared to be attempting to loft the ball over mid-on, giving the PBKS a much-needed breakthrough in the fourth over.
That brought Jos Butter to the crease and the Englishman, coming off a disappointing T20 World Cup campaign, got off the mark in style, caressing Vyshak Vijaykumar through cover for a boundary, the shot giving the batter a lot of confidence moving forward.
Buttler employed the cut shot against a short and wide Jansen delivery to get a four through backward point and then struck the game’s first six when he lofted Vyshak straight down the ground, as the seamer failed to land his attempted slower ball in the right area.
GT ended the powerplay at 54 for one, with PBKS having pulled things back a bit after leaking plenty in the first three overs.
Chahal came on in the eighth over and the leg-spinner, who has a good record against Gill having dismissed the opener three times in previous IPL match-ups, had his man once again as the batter holed out to deep midwicket after setting him up for a big score.
Chahal bowled one slower through the air and while Gill got the elevation, he did not get distance to clear the rope.
New man Glenn Phillips smashed Chahal over long-on for a maximum, and then, Buttler smoked a short Xavier Bartlett ball over mid-on for a six. PBKS then pulled things back.
