IPL 2026: PBKS vs GT Highlights, Match 4 - Stats, Player of the Match & More
Cooper Connolly (Source: X/@IPL)
Published - 31 Mar 2026, 08:52 PM• Read time - 6 mins
Match Overview
Punjab Kings (PBKS) and Gujarat Titans (GT) locked horns in the fourth match of IPL 2026 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Tuesday, March 31. PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl first.
The successful GT opening pair of the previous season - Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill - provided their team with another good start, however, it was cut short by Marco Jansen who dismissed the southpaw for 13(11). Wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler, who is struggling for form, joined Gill and looked much better than what he did in the T20 World Cup. The duo built a promising stand but Yuzvendra Chahal dismissed the captain for 39(27) as GT reached the halfway mark with 84 runs on the board.
Glenn Phillips and Buttler combined to form another 30+ partnership next, but it was the same story as the previous two stands - a partnership blossoming before being clipped by the opposition. Both Buttler (38 off 33) and Phillips (25 off 17) were dismissed in the space of 10 balls and the run rate dropped gradually. Eventually, Washington Sundar and Rahul Tewatia's cameos helped GT reach a respectable total of 162/6. Vijaykumar Vyshak was the star with the ball with three wickets to his name.
Kagiso Rabada provided an early breakthrough in the form of Priyansh Arya who was caught at midwicket for 7(8). But then came a game-changing stand between Prabhsimran Singh and debutant Cooper Connolly who started the counterattack with three sixes off Rabada's next over. PBKS ended the powerplay at a healthy 55/1 as GT struggled to stem the run flow.
The duo carried on their merry ways, but just around the halfway mark Rashid struck, sending back Prabhsimran for 37(24). The 76-run partnership thus came to an end, but PBKS were still nicely placed needing 80 runs off 63 balls. Captain Shreyas joined Connolly who was going steadily at the other end. A brief stand of 27 runs transpired between the two before GT struck another blow to dismiss Shreyas for 18(11).
The game witnessed a turnaround in the space of 15 balls as PBKS lost three more wickets for just five runs. The drizzle perhaps played with the minds of the batters as GT were well and truly in the game now. However, they were still up against Connolly who completed his fifty off 34 balls. Notably, the left-hander became the fourth batter in IPL history to score a half century on debut.
Meanwhile, Marco Jansen provided Connolly with a good supporting hand but not for long. Eventually, with the help of Xavier Bartlett the southpaw took his team home in a tense finish by three wickets and five balls remaining.
Top run-scorer of the match
|
Player |
Team |
Runs |
Balls |
Fours |
Sixes |
Strike Rate |
| Cooper Connolly |
PBKS |
72* |
44 |
5 |
5 |
163.63 |
Top wicket-taker of the match
|
Player |
Team |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wickets |
Economy |
| Prasidh Krishna |
GT |
4 |
0 |
29 |
3 |
7.25 |
Player of the Match
Cooper Connolly
The Australian entered the IPL arena with a bang, producing a mature knock to guide his team home. The 22-year-old displayed both his attacking and accumulating sides in a situation which required sound temperament. Connolly passed the test with flying colours and along the way conjured up the fifth-highest score on IPL debut.
Turning Point
Had there not been a collapse during PBKS' innings, the game-changing moment would have been the second-wicket partnership between Connolly and Prabhsimran. But, the importance of the stand between the Australian and Jansen for the seventh-wicket is beyond just the 26 runs that they scored together. The partnership provided much-needed stability and stemmed the flow of wickets because of which there was still a good chance for PBKS to attain victory.
What the captains said
Winning Team Captain, Shreyas Iyer (PBKS)
"All I can say about the hand is that it's nice, same as it was before, I don't want to jinx anything. Some of the shots he (Cooper Connolly) played was surreal to watch, especially the one off Rashid. I was focused on my hand inside, icing it, suddenly we lost two wickets back to back, these things happen in the IPL, you have to stay composed, Cooper was there, he was composed and calm. After the third over we realised the wicket is slow, Arshdeep came and said it was holding a bit, we tried to make the ball old as soon as possible. Vyshak is carrying forward the form he performed in the last season, he is a big match player. I was surprised to see a short leg for me, I told Shubman I had never seen that before, it's good to see captains attacking."
Losing Team Captain, Shubman Gill (GT)
"I think we bowled pretty well, we didn't get going in the last five or six overs (with the bat), it wasn't a 200 wicket, but if we 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 older it was difficult to hit down the ground, there was no pace on the wicket when we were bowling, with the rain coming down it did not stop as much in the second innings, we did well with the bowling. I could have got Prasidh on earlier, but we were in the game until the end, there will always be ifs and buts Ashok bowled pretty well up front and in the back, as he plays more and gets more experience he will be of value for us. He works very hard on his game, he's a good fielder for us, I met him at a camp a couple of months ago and was very impressed."
