SRH vs PBKS Highlights, IPL 2026: Cooper Connolly’s century in vain as Sunrisers Hyderabad seal dominant win by 33 runs

Sunrisers Hyderabad seal a convincing 33-run victory, successfully defending 235 despite a valiant century from Cooper Connolly. Chasing a daunting total, Punjab Kings never quite recover from early blows, even though Connolly anchors the innings with a superb 107 off 59 balls, registering his maiden IPL and T20 hundred. He finds some late support from Marco Jansen, but the asking rate proves too steep throughout.

SRH’s bowlers maintain control with timely wickets and disciplined variations, with Pat Cummins setting the tone early and the attack collectively choking the chase in the middle overs. Despite a late flourish that pushes PBKS past 200, the result is never in doubt as SRH complete a comprehensive win to underline their dominance.

Punjab Kings slip further behind in the chase, reaching 130/6 after 15 overs despite a fighting half-century from Cooper Connolly. The young batter brings up his fifty under pressure, but wickets continue to fall around him as Pat Cummins and Sakib Hussain strike at regular intervals to derail any momentum.

SRH’s bowlers execute their variations smartly, with cutters and slower balls proving difficult to get away, while PBKS struggle to find boundaries in the middle overs. Connolly survives a scare with a dropped return catch and even takes a blow, but with the required rate spiralling and only the lower order for company, SRH firmly seize control of the contest.

Punjab Kings struggle to keep up with the steep asking rate despite a fighting effort from Cooper Connolly, reaching 91/4 at the halfway stage. After losing Marcus Stoinis to spin from Shivang Kumar, PBKS are forced into consolidation, with Connolly and Suryansh Shedge rotating strike but failing to find enough boundaries through the middle overs.

Just when the innings begins to stagnate, Connolly injects momentum with back-to-back sixes off Harsh Dubey in the 10th over, briefly lifting hopes. However, with the required rate continuing to climb and wickets already down, PBKS remain under significant pressure despite Connolly’s counterattacking knock.

Punjab Kings stumble early in a steep chase of 236, losing three wickets inside four overs as Pat Cummins and Nitish Kumar Reddy strike upfront to remove both openers and then Shreyas Iyer cheaply. The early damage puts PBKS under immediate pressure, with the required rate already climbing and momentum firmly with SRH.

However, Marcus Stoinis launches a sharp counterattack alongside Cooper Connolly, taking on Sakib Hussain in a chaotic fifth over that leaks 19 runs, including a no-ball four and a six. PBKS reach 48/3 after five overs, still under pressure.

Sunrisers Hyderabad explode at the death, riding on a powerful finish from Heinrich Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy to post a daunting 235/4. Klaasen anchors the surge with a fluent fifty, while Nitish provides the late burst, taking on Marco Jansen and Lockie Ferguson with fearless hitting as SRH consistently find boundaries in the final overs.

Punjab manage to pull things back slightly through Arshdeep Singh at the death and Vijaykumar Vyshak picks up Klaasen on the final ball, but the damage is already done. SRH finish with a commanding total, with Klaasen’s 69 and a blistering cameo from Nitish ensuring a dominant end to a high-scoring innings.

Sunrisers Hyderabad surge ahead in the middle overs, riding on a brutal counterattack from Ishan Kishan, who takes Vijaykumar Vyshak apart with a hat-trick of sixes to bring up a fiery fifty and propel SRH past 160. Alongside him, Heinrich Klaasen keeps the pressure on with clean hitting, as the duo add quick runs and punish anything loose, capitalising on yet another dropped chance by Punjab.

Just when the partnership looks set to take the game away, Arshdeep Singh returns to break the stand, dismissing Kishan for a well-made 55 with a slower-ball trap. SRH reach 174/3 after 15 overs, still in a commanding position, with Klaasen set at the crease but PBKS finally managing to pull things back slightly after a costly phase in the field.

Sunrisers Hyderabad continue their dominance despite a couple of breakthroughs, reaching 118/2 at the 10-over mark with Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan rebuilding steadily. Yuzvendra Chahal provides a key moment by dismissing Travis Head for 38, but Punjab’s fielding lets them down badly, dropping both Klaasen and Kishan at crucial stages.

Klaasen makes PBKS pay instantly, smashing Chahal for a six and benefiting from a dropped catch that also runs away for four, while Kishan survives an earlier chance off Lockie Ferguson. The pair keep the scoreboard ticking with smart rotation and timely boundaries, ensuring SRH maintain control through the middle overs, with Punjab left to rue multiple missed opportunities.

Sunrisers Hyderabad explode out of the blocks, with Abhishek Sharma leading the charge in the second over by taking Marco Jansen for 21 runs after an aggressive start against Arshdeep Singh. Travis Head quickly joins in, smashing two sixes and a four off Arshdeep to push SRH to 48/0 inside three overs. Lockie Ferguson breaks the momentum with the key wicket of Abhishek (35 off 13), caught by Shreyas Iyer at mid-off.

Despite the breakthrough, Head continues the assault with back-to-back boundaries off Jansen, ensuring SRH race to 65/1 after five overs. Punjab pull things back slightly, but SRH remain firmly in control with a dominant powerplay showing.

Aniket Verma, Praful Hinge, Liam Livingstone, Harsh Dubey, Harshal Patel

Priyansh Arya, Harpreet Brar, Xavier Bartlett, Vishnu Vinod, Musheer Khan

Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan(w), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Smaran Ravichandran, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Pat Cummins(c), Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain

Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Lockie Ferguson, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

“I also would have bowled first. Hopefully we come up great tonight. The crowds have supported us very well this season. I can't really judge the pitch, hopefull we will put some runs on the board. Nitish is back for us tonight.”

“We will bowl first. So far we have learned amazing things in the last few matches we have lost. We have no complaints so far because of travelling. Everyone are holding up well as professionals. Last match SRH chased so I thought we will bowl. Shashank comes in.”

Punjab Kings win toss and opt to bowl.

Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Nehal Wadhera/Shashank Singh, Suryansh Shedge, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Arshdeep Singh, Vyshak Vijaykumar, Yuzvendra Chahal

Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan, Heinrich Klaasen, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma/R Smaran, Pat Cummins , Harsh Dubey/Praful Hinge, Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Sakib Hussain

Punjab Kings have had a highly promising campaign so far in the ongoing IPL season, registering 6 wins, 2 losses, and 1 no-result from 9 matches played.

They kicked off strongly with victories over Gujarat Titans (by 3 wickets) on March 31 and Chennai Super Kings (by 5 wickets) on April 3, followed by a rain-washed no-result against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 6. PBKS then hit an excellent purple patch with a four-match winning streak, defeating Sunrisers Hyderabad by 6 wickets, Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets, Lucknow Super Giants by 54 runs, and Delhi Capitals by 6 wickets. Their form has cooled off recently with consecutive defeats to Rajasthan Royals (by 6 wickets) on April 28 and Gujarat Titans (by 4 wickets) on May 3.

Sunrisers Hyderabad have had a roller-coaster yet ultimately promising campaign so far in the ongoing IPL season, registering 6 wins and 4 losses from 10 matches played.

They began with a narrow 6-wicket defeat to Royal Challengers Bengaluru on March 28 but quickly responded with a commanding 65-run victory over Kolkata Knight Riders. A couple of close losses followed against Lucknow Super Giants (by 5 wickets) and Punjab Kings (by 6 wickets), but SRH then hit top gear with a superb five-match winning streak, including thumping wins over Rajasthan Royals (57 runs and later by 5 wickets), Chennai Super Kings (10 runs), Delhi Capitals (47 runs), and Mumbai Indians (6 wickets). Their most recent outing ended in a 7-wicket loss to Kolkata Knight Riders on May 3.

Total matches – 25

Matches won by SRH – 17

Matches won by PBKS – 8