Sunrisers Hyderabad continued their explosive run in IPL 2026 with a 33-run win over Punjab Kings at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium after posting a daunting 235/4 and then holding off a stunning century from Cooper Connolly.
SRH’s batting unit once again delivered a ruthless performance, with Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan leading the charge after an aggressive opening stand from Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma. Punjab Kings fought back through Connolly’s unbeaten 107, but the early collapse in the chase proved too costly.
Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to bowl first on a batting-friendly Uppal surface, a decision that quickly backfired as SRH’s top order launched an immediate assault.
Abhishek Sharma smashed 35 off just 13 deliveries, hammering four sixes before falling to Lockie Ferguson in the fourth over. Travis Head continued the momentum with a rapid 38 off 19 balls as SRH stormed to 79/1 at the end of the Powerplay.
Yuzvendra Chahal removed Head after seven overs with SRH at 86/2, but Punjab were unable to slow the scoring rate.
Ishan Kishan, who survived three dropped catches, punished PBKS heavily with a blistering 55 off 32 balls that included four sixes and two boundaries. Heinrich Klaasen then took complete control in the second half of the innings.
Klaasen smashed an unbeaten 69 off 43 deliveries, striking four sixes and three boundaries while bringing up his half-century in 32 balls. He and Kishan added 88 runs off just 48 deliveries to put Punjab under severe pressure.
Nitish Kumar Reddy added further damage at the death with an unbeaten 29 off 13 balls. His 63-run stand with Klaasen off only 32 balls ensured SRH finished at a massive 235/4.
For Punjab Kings, Marco Jansen endured a difficult outing, conceding 61 runs in four overs without taking a wicket. Chahal was the only bowler to maintain some control, returning figures of 1/32. Arshdeep Singh, Ferguson and Vijaykumar Vyshak picked up one wicket each.
Chasing 236, Punjab Kings suffered an immediate collapse.
Priyansh Arya fell for 1 in the opening over before Prabhsimran Singh departed for 3. PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer was then dismissed for 5 by Eshan Malinga, leaving Punjab struggling at 23/3 in just 3.2 overs.
With wickets falling around him, Cooper Connolly produced a sensational innings. The 22-year-old smashed his maiden IPL century, remaining unbeaten on 107 off 59 balls with eight sixes and seven boundaries. The knock also made him the youngest overseas player to score an IPL century, according to CricViz statistics.
Marcus Stoinis provided brief support with a 28-run cameo off 14 balls before Suryansh Shedge contributed 25 off 17 deliveries. Connolly and Shedge added 47 runs together, but Pat Cummins broke the stand in the 12th over to leave PBKS at 114/5.
Shashank Singh failed to make an impact, while Marco Jansen attempted late resistance with 19 off 16 balls during a 68-run partnership with Connolly.
However, the asking rate remained out of reach throughout the innings, with PBKS needing 49 runs from the final over. Connolly reached his century in 57 deliveries as Punjab Kings finished on 202/7.
© instagram.com/punjabkingsiplSRH captain Pat Cummins rotated his bowlers effectively to deny Punjab any sustained momentum. Cummins returned figures of 2/34, while Shivang Kumar claimed 2/45. Sakib Hussain and Nitish Kumar Reddy also chipped in with wickets.
The victory pushed Sunrisers Hyderabad to the top of the IPL 2026 points table with seven wins from 11 matches and 14 points. Punjab Kings remained second with six wins from 10 matches.
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