Punjab Kings opened their account in Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) with a statement win against Gujarat Titans in their first game of the tournament on Tuesday. A mature knock from debutant Cooper Connolly saw Shreyas Iyer and co. cruise to a three-wicket win as they braved Prasidh Krishna’s valiant efforts to keep them at check. While PBKS did not tick all the required boxes, they may have found a new hero in the form of Connolly and it looks like he will have a crucial role to play in this season.
Connolly’s mature knock saves PBKS
Chasing a target of 163 runs, Connolly walked out to bat in the 2nd over of the run-chase after Priyansh Arya was dismissed cheaply. The then stitched together a 76-run partnership with Prabhsimran Singh to stabilize in the innings for PBKS.
While wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, the Australian stayed calm and held his fort. Eventually, Connolly stayed unbeaten on 72 runs off 44 deliveries, having struck five fours and sixes each as PBKS completed the run-chase with 5 deliveries to spare. Ponting’s decision to use the Australian at number 3 paid off in a huge fashion.
Bowling okay but not enough runs for GT
Gujarat Titans surprisingly struggle with the bat in their IPL 2026 opener against PBKS. Batting first, the team only managed to score 162 runs in 20 overs, with captain Shubman Gill finishing as the highest run-getter with 39 runs to his name. Despite a good start, GT went on to lose steam, and were only 102/2 in 12 overs. Jos Buttler’s 38-run knock came as a face-saver for GT as they were at least able to breach the 150-run mark.
However, it was the runs on the board that prevented GT from securing a win. Krishna tried his best to stop PBKS with figures of 3/29 from his four overs. Rabada, Sharma, Rashid and Sundar all bagged one wicket each but couldn’t find a way to stop Conolly and PBKS.
IPL points table after PBKS vs GT match
IPL 2026 points table
| Team | P | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RR | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.171 |
| RCB | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.907 |
| MI | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.687 |
| PBKS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.509 |
| GT | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -0.509 |
| KKR | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.687 |
| SRH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2.907 |
| CSK | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -4.171 |
| DC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| LSG | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Next IPL 2026 match
| Date | Day | Home Team | Away Team | Venue | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01/04/2026 | Wed | Lucknow Super Giants | Delhi Capitals | Lucknow | 19:30 |
The post Who won yesterday’s IPL 2026 match between PBKS and GT? appeared first on Inside Sport India.
