New Chandigarh, April 19 (IANS) Blazing half-centuries from opener Priyansh Arya (93 off 37 balls) and Australian southpaw Cooper Connolly (87 off 46 balls) powered Punjab Kings (PBKS) to a humongous 254/7 in their IPL 2026 clash against Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday.

At a packed Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Arya and Connolly produced a breathtaking display of modern-day power-hitting while sharing a 182-run second-wicket partnership and shatter LSG’s bowling rhythm to post the highest score of this season.

With the aim to send every ball past the boundary ropes, Priyansh hit four boundaries and nine sixes at will, while Connolly matched him step by step by smashing eight fours and seven sixes. Though they lost wickets at the back end, the Arya-Connolly efforts meant PBKS crossed 250-mark. For LSG, Prince Yadav was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2-25, while the rest of the bowling attack conceded 226 runs in 16 overs.

Opting to bowl first, veteran Mohammed Shami provided the perfect start by dismissing Prabhsimran Singh for a duck through a wobble seam delivery. But the joy was short-lived as Arya welcomed Mohsin Khan with a massive six over mid-wicket to signal his intent.

While Connolly was initially scratchy, crawling to 19 off 22 balls, Arya kept the momentum high with relentless boundary-hitting to reach his fifty in just 19 deliveries. Connolly eventually found his range to hit a 35-ball fifty. The duo saved their most brutal assault for Aiden Markram, milking the part-time off-spinner for 32 runs in the 13th over, including five sixes.

The breakthrough finally came when Prince induced a top edge from Connolly and end his stay at 87. Arya looked set for reaching a well-deserved century, but fell seven runs short of it after being caught at long-off by Mitchell Marsh off Manimaran Siddharth.

A brief middle-order wobble saw Shreyas Iyer and Nehal Wadhera depart in quick succession as LSG began to claw back. But the momentum stayed with the hosts as Marcus Stoinis (29 off 16 balls) and Shashank Singh (17 off 6 balls) unleashed a late barrage.

Shashank took 20 runs off Shami’s final over to push the total past the 250-run mark. Stoinis was eventually run out on the final ball, by then PBKS had set LSG a daunting task to chase at 12.75 runs per over.

Brief Scores: Punjab Kings 254/7 in 20 overs (Priyansh Arya 93, Cooper Connolly 87; Prince Yadav 2-25, M Siddharth 2-35) against Lucknow Super Giants

–IANS

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