punjab kings Opened their account in IPL 2026 with a three-wicket win against Gujarat Titans in a thrilling encounter at the New PCA Stadium, Mullanpur.
Gujarat Titans, who came to bat first, scored 162/6, Punjab Kings gave a strong performance in the field. Shubman Gill's 39, Jos Buttler's 38 and Glenn Phillips' 25 ensured Gujarat had something to bowl at, despite the score being quite low.
Vijaykumar Vaishya took three wickets for 34 runs in four overs. Marco Jansen dismissed Sai Sudarshan early in the powerplay and Yuzvendra Chahal took the important wickets of Gill and Buttler.
In reply, Punjab Kings chased the target easily despite losing Priyansh Arya early. debutant cooper connollyWith Prabhasimran Singh, he set the stage in the beginning by making a partnership of 76 runs for the second wicket.
Punjab's score was 110/2 at the end of the 12th over, but Gujarat picked up important wickets, which saw them stumble to 118/6, with influential player Prasidh Krishna taking three wickets. Punjab lost another wicket before Connolly (72 not out off 44 balls) and Bartlett took him home with five balls to spare.
talking points
1) Gujarat Titans' middle-order weakness an issue?
Gujarat Titans relied heavily on their top three in 2025 as they scored most of the runs. Today, the trio of Gill, Buttler and Sudarshan were out early, exposing the weaknesses of their middle order as they failed to strengthen later on. The inclusion of Glenn Phillips was considered a boost, but he could not contribute more than 25 runs. How the Titans resolve this issue could define their season.
2) Is Chahal back to his best form?
Yuzvendra Chahal has the most wickets in his name in IPL. Over the years, he has baffled batsmen with deception, subtle variations and precise bowling. The leg spinner was at his best, dismissing the dangerous Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler. Chahal showed his intelligence and experience today, and if he continues this form into the season, Punjab Kings will be a force to be reckoned with.
3) Connolly arrives when the light is brightest
Highly rated Australian prospect Cooper Connolly was carded at number 3 on his debut. In his first IPL rodeo, the youngster came in at the start of the powerplay and took charge of the chase. He kept Punjab's innings in check, crossing the gaps, launching aerial attacks and rotating the strike, remaining unbeaten on 72 runs. Despite the fall of wickets at the other end, he scored important runs till the end. He has been highly respected in the Australian system and has shown glimpses of his talent on the biggest stage.
4) Gujarat Titans have performed well in the death overs
Gujarat Titans were one of the better death bowling teams in 2025, and they look to have continued that form in 2026 as well. Punjab Kings were cruising at 110/2, but the Titans pulled it back, leaving them at 118/6 with six overs left. 2025 Purple Cap winner Prasidh Krishna continued his form from last season, taking three wickets. With the inclusion of fast bowler Ashok Sharma, who bowled impressively at the back-end, Gujarat Titans showcased the strength of their bowling attack.
who said what?
Shubman Gill, captain of Gujarat Titans
“I think we bowled quite well, we just didn't get going (batting) in the last five or six overs, it wasn't a 200 wicket but if we had 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 old it was difficult to hit it on the ground, there was no pace on the wicket. When we were bowling, it was not so much in the second innings because of the rain coming. We did well in bowling, but we were in the game till the end, Ashok bowled very well, as he plays more and gets more experience, he works very hard on his game, I met him in a camp a few months ago and was very impressed.
Shreyas Iyer, Captain of Punjab Kings
“All I can say about the hand is that it is good, the same as before, I don't want to mess anything up. Some of the shots he (Connolly) played were unreal to watch, especially on Rashid's ball. My focus was on the inside of my hand, on the icing, suddenly we lost two wickets in a row, such things happen in the IPL, you have to be composed. Cooper was there, he was composed and calm. After the third over we realized that the wicket was slow, Arshdeep came in and said it was a bit of a catch, we tried to get the ball going as quickly as possible, he is a big match player, I was surprised to see him at short leg, I told Shubman that I had never seen that before, it is good to see the captains attacking.
Cooper Connolly, Player of the Match
“I was looking forward to the experience of playing with some world-class players, but I'm really happy with the way he performed tonight. I spent some time with friends and family at home before that. I'm just a tempo player, feel the flow of my hands, don't hit too many big sixes. Ricky is great to work with. Not much was said, we were quite relaxed, were in a good position there, nice to get the win with Javier, looking forward to the rest of the tournament. This was the first time I played against Rashid Khan and I was trying to enjoy the win.”
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