SRH Crush PBKS by 33 Runs Despite Connolly's Stunning Maiden IPL Century

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) defeated Punjab Kings (PBKS) by 33 runs in their Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Wednesday despite a scintillating unbeaten century off the bat of Cooper Connolly.

Connolly was the lone hero in their chase as he stayed unbeaten at the crease for 107 runs off 59 balls, including eight sixes and seven fours.

He became the youngest overseas player to score a ton in the IPL, as per a CricViz stat.

A top-order collapse and disciplined bowling from the SRH captaincy ensured the "Orange Army" secured a vital victory at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

Chasing a daunting target of 236, Punjab's innings began in the worst possible fashion.

The visitors lost three wickets within the first four overs, effectively derailing the chase before it could find any rhythm.

Priyansh Arya (1) was the first to fall in the opening over. Prabhsimran Singh (3) followed immediately after, caught by Pat Cummins off the bowling of Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Then came the match-defining moment when skipper Shreyas Iyer (5) was dismissed by Eshan Malinga, leaving PBKS reeling at 23/3 in 3.2 overs.

While wickets tumbled around him, 22-year-old Cooper Connolly played an innings for the ages.

Connolly smashed his maiden IPL century, scoring 107 off 59 balls. Connolly found briefly effective partners in Marcus Stoinis (28 off 14) and Suryansh Shedge (25 off 17), but the required run rate--which hovered above 15 for most of the innings--proved too high to manage alone.

After Stoinis' wicket in the seventh over, Connolly formed a 47-run partnership with Suryansh Shedge.

How Did Cummins' Disciplined Bowling Deny PBKS a Miracle Chase Against SRH?

However, Cummins got rid of Shedge in the 12th over, reducing PBKS to 114/5.

Shashank Singh (5) got out without contributing much, but Marco Jansen tried with a 16-ball 19-run innings, stitching together a partnership of 68 runs with Connolly.

However, the PBKS batters were left to do the impossible as they needed 49 off the last over. Connolly brought up his maiden IPL century in 57 balls as PBKS finished at 202/7, losing by 33 runs.

Coming to SRH's bowling, Pat Cummins rotated his bowlers effectively to ensure PBKS never gained the momentum needed for a miracle.

Cummins (2/34), Shivang Kumar (2/45), Sakib Hussain (1/40) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/11 in 2 overs) were the wicket takers for the hosts.

The Player of the Match on Wednesday, Pat Cummins said, "I think Punjab are a really good side, they were number one coming into this. I thought the batters to get up to what we did was sensational."

"I think that and then to close it out, no matter what the score is, bowling second against a side like that is always tough, but I thought we were quite clinical," the SRH skipper added.

How Does SRH's Win Over PBKS Shake Up the IPL 2026 Points Table?

The win propels SRH to the top spot in the IPL 2026 standings as they now have seven wins in 11 matches and 14 points to their name. PBKS are second with six wins and three losses in 10 matches.

Earlier, Klaasen (69 runs off 43 balls) and Kishan (55 runs off 32 balls) scored crucial fifties after openers Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma gave them a solid start.

For the PBKS bowlers, it was a tough outing as only Yuzvendra Chahal managed to go for anything under 10 runs per over.

Despite PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer winning the toss and opting to bowl first, the decision backfired as the SRH batters feasted on a flat Uppal deck.

(With inputs from ANI)