Punjab Kings batsman Cooper Connolly makes a dream start ipl 2026Guided his team to a thrilling three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans in Mullanpur. Connolly scored an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls to help Punjab Kings successfully chase the target with five balls to spare and open their account as early as possible.
The 22-year-old entered the field after opener Priyansh Arya was dismissed cheaply. He took over the innings with his aggressive approach along with Prabhsimran Singh, as the duo added 76 runs in just 49 balls for the second wicket. Connolly remained undefeated in the chase and completed it despite the fall of wickets at the other end.
Reflecting on his performance, he admitted that he was “a little nervous” when he woke up on match day. But when that moment came, Connolly was nervous.
“I woke up in the morning a little nervous, which I was really happy about, but yes, I was really looking forward to going out there and doing my best,” he told GeoStar.
Connolly also gave credit to the coach ricky ponting To keep him calm and support him to play his natural game.
“Ricky Ponting kept me calm and composed. He told me to play my game, go out there and dominate. It was a good team performance. We were very strong with the ball and we made things easy for ourselves. It was a really good day for us. I was looking forward to spending time in the middle with Shreyas Iyer and sharpening his mind a bit. He is a world-class player. I have played a bit of cricket with him for Australia A and Australia. He is a Great players for some reason, and hopefully, I can learn as much as I can,'' he said.
He also talked about following in Shaun Marsh's footsteps as an Australian left-handed top-order batsman for Punjab Kings:
“It was a good moment when I got selected. Shaun Marsh was the first person I spoke to about it and he gave me some good words. Growing up, I played with him in Western Australia for a long time and he's always been good to me. I looked at him as a mentor and a role model and really enjoyed spending some time with him. It's good to be among the runs. There's still a lot of games left and I'm really looking forward to it.
Punjab Kings will take on Chennai Super Kings on April 3 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
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