Match: Punjab Kings vs Gujarat Titans | IPL 2026 Match 4 | March 31, 2026 Venue: Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur, New Chandigarh Result: Punjab Kings won by 3 wickets
IPL 2026 has already seen its first classic. Punjab Kings started their campaign with a nerve-shredding three-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans at Mullanpur on March 31. The man who made it happen was a 22-year-old Australian playing his first-ever IPL match. Cooper Connolly played his very first IPL game. Cooper Connolly walked in under pressure, refused to blink, and walked out with an unbeaten 72 that will be talked about for many years to come.
Gujarat Titans Bat First — Decent Start, Disappointing Finish
Shreyas Iyer won the toss and elected to bowl, and Punjab’s bowlers justified that call from the very first over. Gill and Sudharsan found boundaries regularly in the powerplay for Gujarat, racing to 37 before Marco Jansen broke the stand, removing Sudharsan for 13. While Gill looked dangerous, the GT middle order never really changed gears. Jos Buttler contributed 38 runs off 33 balls, and Glenn Phillips played an entertaining 25-run innings in his GT debut, but none of the top-order batsmen capitalised on their starts and made big scores. GT was 162 for 6 in 20 overs, a score that seemed to be 10 to 15 short on a good Mullanpur pitch.
Top PBKS Bowling Performance — Vyshak Leads, Chahal Delivers
Vijaykumar Vyshak was the star with the ball for Punjab, though, as he picked up 3 wickets for just 34 runs in his 4 overs. He bowled well in the middle overs and was sharp at the death, levering his slower ball to get the better of Washington Sundar and Shahrukh Khan at important moments.
Yuzvendra Chahal was equally impressive, with figures of 2 for 28 and taking both Gill and Buttler — two of GT’s most dangerous batters — at the moments when Punjab was in dire need of a breakthrough wicket. In a stat that underlines his dominance, Chahal became the first spin bowler to get rid of Shubman Gill more than three times across the IPL’s history.
PBKS Chase — Strong Start, Dramatic Collapse, Heroic Finish
Punjab’s chase was on from the start with intent and aggression. Confidence was rebuilt by Prabhsimran Singh and Connolly after Punjab lost Priyansh Arya to an early wicket against Kagiso Rabada, with Punjab reaching 55 for 1 at the end of the powerplay.
The two put on 76 runs for the second wicket before Rashid Khan put an end to Prabhsimran’s whirlwind innings of 37 runs from 24 balls.
He then played a few attacking shots and fell victim to Prasidh Krishna. What followed was a dramatic middle-order collapse – taking Punjab from 110 for 2 to 118 for 6 in a matter of overs, and the chase looked out of sight.
Top GT Bowling Performance — Prasidh Krishna’s Match-Turning Spell
Gujarat’s impact player Prasidh Krishna produced the bowling performance of the match. He was brought on as an impact substitute and ended up with figures of 3 for 29 off four overs – the most economical and most destructive spell of the night. He removed Shreyas Iyer, Shashank Singh, and Marcus Stoinis in one carnage passage to wrest control of the contest firmly in favor of Gujarat. The 11 dot balls through which Krishna kept Punjab under constant pressure made Gujarat Titans one wicket away from turning the game on its head. It was a spell of true class on the big stage.
The Standout Moment — Connolly Keeps His Head When It Mattered Most
With Punjab 118 for 6 and requiring 45 runs from the last five overs, the match was Gujarat’s to lose. Connolly spurned the idea. The young Australian was calm, calculated, and utterly fearless, anchoring the innings but still attacking the bowling when the opportunity came up. Connolly reached his fifty in the 16th over from Rabada and ended the over with a six that showed his intentions. With the lower order in support of Jansen and Bartlett, Connolly kept ticking away at the target and eventually sealed the win with a boundary off Washington Sundar on the first ball of the final over – finishing on 72 not out off 44 balls with five fours and five sixes at a strike rate of 163.63.
Top Scorer of the Match — Cooper Connolly (72, PBKS)*
His unbeaten 72 stands as the fifth-highest individual score by a batter on their IPL debut, trailing only behind Brendon McCullum’s legendary 158*, Michael Hussey’s 116*, Shaun Marsh’s 84*, and Kyle Mayers’ 73. Having so much composure while losing six wickets is something unique for a player in his first game. Punjab head coach Ricky Ponting will take great satisfaction from what he saw – and Gujarat Titans, despite a valiant bowling effort, will rue not finding that one extra wicket to close the match out.
Final Scorecards
Gujarat Titans: 162/6 in 20 overs — Shubman Gill 39 (27), Jos Buttler 38 (33) | Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/34, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/28
Punjab Kings: 165/7 in 19.1 overs — Cooper Connolly 72* (44), Prabhsimran Singh 37 (24) | Prasidh Krishna 3/29
Punjab Kings beat Gujarat Titans by 3 wickets in IPL 2026 Match 4 at Mullanpur on March 31, 2026.
Top Scorer: Cooper Connolly (PBKS) — 72* off 44 balls (5 fours, 5 sixes, SR: 163.63) on IPL debut. Named Player of the Match.
Top Batting — GT: Shubman Gill 39 (27) | Jos Buttler 38 (33) | Glenn Phillips 25
Top Batting — PBKS: Cooper Connolly 72* (44) | Prabhsimran Singh 37 (24)
Top Bowling — PBKS: Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/34 | Yuzvendra Chahal 2/28
Top Bowling — GT: Prasidh Krishna 3/29 (Impact Player)
Key Moment: PBKS collapsed from 110/2 to 118/6 before Connolly’s unbeaten 72 sealed a 3-wicket win off the first ball of the final over.
IPL Debut Record: Connolly’s 72* is the 5th highest score by a debutant in IPL history — behind McCullum (158*), Hussey (116*), Marsh (84*), Mayers (73).
Scorecard: GT 162/6 (20 ov) | PBKS 165/7 (19.1 ov)
Full Scorecard – https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-videos/168752/cricbuzz-live-pbks-v-gt-ipl-2026-post-match-show
