“Surreal”. “Unbelievable”. “Phenomenal”.
That’s how Punjab Kings (PBKS) captain Shreyas Iyer described Cooper Connolly’s knock against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the team’s opening game in New Chandigarh on Tuesday. Making his IPL debut, Connolly scored an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls from No. 3 to seal a 163-run chase that looked like a breeze at one point but turned nervy towards the end.
Connolly’s innings was equal parts audacity and maturity. He came out to bat in the second over of the chase after Priyansh Arya fell cheaply. The ball was not coming onto the bat until then. But as PBKS began their chase, it started drizzling – too light to stop play but heavy enough to quicken up the pitch.
Connolly had made only five off his first six balls, but there were signs of aggression already. He had just attempted a lofted shot against Mohammed Siraj but barely cleared mid-on. Siraj’s next delivery was slightly shorter. That allowed Connolly to free his arms and club him through midwicket for four. The timing was still not there but the placement was.
In the next over, he found the timing too as he launched Kagiso Rabada over long-off. When fellow debutant Ashok Sharma bowled one at 143kph, Connolly used his quick hands to slash it over point for a flat six, moving to 22 off 13 balls.
For someone who learnt his cricket in Perth, pace was not going to cause any problem. Connolly’s real test was always going to be spin. So there was interest when Rashid Khan came on to bowl the last over of the powerplay.
Before Tuesday, Connolly had never faced Rashid. He tried to flick his first ball but was beaten for pace. That, though, was all it took. Rashid’s next delivery was just short of good length. Connolly stayed leg side of the ball and used his fast hands to muscle it to the left of mid-off for four.
“I am more of a tempo player. I like to sort of feel the flow in my hands – I don’t try to hit too many big sixes. But working with Ricky [Ponting, the PBKS head coach] has been great. [I made] some slight tweaks that have helped me out over these first five days”
Cooper Connolly
In his next over, Rashid switched to around the wicket but ended up bowling a half-tracker. Connolly stood in his crease and pulled it over long-on, into the second tier, for a 103-metre six.
“It was unbelievable,” Iyer said of the shot after the match. “One of the best bowlers in the IPL, and to hit him so clearly and neatly, it was simply phenomenal.”
A few overs later, Rashid tried a googly. Once again, it was too short, and Connolly dispatched it over deep midwicket. In all, he ransacked 22 off 12 balls against Rashid. Off his other 12 balls, Rashid picked up 1 for 7.
Even if you had not watched Connolly bat before this, you knew by now he could hit the ball really hard. How hard? Iyer got a first-hand experience when Connolly smashed one straight at him at the non-striker’s end. Iyer instinctively put his right hand in the way, taking the blow, wincing in pain, and perhaps wondering if he had the worst seat in the house.
Shreyas Iyer suffered a blow to his hand trying to save himself from a Cooper Connolly shot•BCCI
At 110 for 2 after 12 overs, PBKS were cruising; the remaining 53 runs looked like a mere formality. That is when Prasidh Krishna turned the tide. With his very first ball, he had Iyer caught at deep midwicket. In his next over, he dismissed Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis as well.
Suddenly, it was 118 for 6 and GT had the upper hand. But Connolly showed great temperament. With 42 needed from 30 balls, he struck Rabada for a four and a six to calm the nerves. He hit one more four off Prasidh and, fittingly, the winning runs too: with two needed from six balls, he whipped Washington Sundar through the covers for four.
Connolly was named the Player of the Match. It was the perfect start to the tournament for him, but his form had not been great coming into the IPL. He started the 2025-26 BBL with knocks of 59 off 31 and 77 off 37 but could score only 73 runs in the next ten innings. When Australia toured Pakistan, he managed a solitary run in three T20Is. At the 2026 T20 World Cup, he played two games, scoring 3 and 11 not out.
During the BBL, he was at least contributing with the ball – his 15 wickets were the joint-seventh-highest and came at an economy rate of 6.40.
Cooper Connolly was in great form with the ball at the BBL, but can’t bowl right away for Punjab Kings•Getty Images
At the IPL, though, he cannot bowl till the end of April because of a back issue. Whatever contribution he has to make till then has to be with the bat.
So it was an important knock from that point of view as well. But what did he do to get back among the runs? “I had a couple of weeks at home just to refresh and reset and spend some time with family and friends,” Connolly said. “And that was probably the point where I changed, and was just like, okay, I am just going to reset and go into the IPL fresh.”
Connolly hit five sixes in his innings. For context, GT hit only three in their whole innings. When asked about his six-hitting drills, Connolly said, “I am more of a tempo player. I like to sort of feel the flow in my hands – I don’t try to hit too many big sixes. But working with Ricky [Ponting, the PBKS head coach] has been great. [I made] some slight tweaks that have helped me out over these first five days.”
It has been only one innings but his team-mate Yuzvendra Chahal has already declared that Connolly “could be one of the finds of the season”.
After being picked at the auction, Connolly had said he wanted to “leave a legacy at Punjab”. If Chahal’s assessment turns out to be true, he has already gone a fair bit towards that.
Hemant Brar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
