Punjab Kings defeated Gujarat Titans by 3 wickets in a close encounter at Mullanpur on March 31.
Thanks to the brilliant unbeaten innings of debutant Cooper Connolly, Punjab achieved the target of 165 runs in 19.1 overs.
GT sets 162 after solid start
PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and chose to bowl first. Gujarat Titans scored 162/6, with Shubman Gill adding 39 runs in 27 balls and Jos Buttler adding 38 runs in 33 balls.
Punjab bowlers controlled things well in the second half. Vijaykumar Vaish took 3 wickets for 34 runs, while Yuzvendra Chahal took 2 wickets for 28 runs and dismissed both the set batsmen.
A brilliant catch by Xavier Bartlett to dismiss Buttler gave PBKS a big lead.
Connolly followed
Punjab Kings got a strong start while chasing the target. Debutant Cooper Connolly played a match-winning inning of unbeaten 72 runs off 44 balls with the help of five fours and five sixes.
Prabhsimran Singh supported him with 37 off 24 and the pair added 76 runs for the second wicket.
Match overturned with sudden collapse
The game changed rapidly when PBKS fell from 110/2 to 118/6 in just 15 balls.
Prasidh Krishna brought Gujarat back with a strong spell of 3/29 by dismissing key batsmen including Iyer and Marcus Stoinis.
PBKS maintained enthusiasm for victory
When the pressure built, Connolly remained calm till the end. He finished the match by hitting a four off Washington Sundar, giving Punjab Kings the win with five balls to spare.
PBKS finished on 165/7 to seal a thrilling win.
