New Delhi, April 1 (IANS) Debutant Cooper Connolly described his match-winning outing for Punjab Kings as a special moment after guiding his side to a three-wicket win over Gujarat Titans in their IPL 2026 opener in New Chandigarh on Tuesday and said that it was an ‘honour’ to represent the same franchise as his idol Shaun Marsh.

Connolly, who struck an unbeaten 72 off 44 balls, held his nerve in a tense chase of 163 after Punjab suffered a middle-order collapse. Having shared a 76-run stand with Prabhsimran Singh (37), the Australian all-rounder anchored the innings even as wickets fell in clusters, eventually steering the side home with five balls to spare.

Reflecting on his debut and the opportunity to represent Punjab, Connolly said it carried personal significance. “Shaun Marsh played for the Punjab Kings and I grew up watching him. It’s sort of an honour to sort of play for the same franchise as him, and looking forward to the next game and looking forward as a team,” he said in a video shared by IPL, adding that getting off to a winning start made the experience even more memorable.

“It’s always nice to get the first win for the team on the board, but just super excited to spend some time out there and sort of start the season off with a win for Punjab and looking forward to the rest of the tournament,” he added.

The 22-year-old also spoke about the magnitude of the IPL stage, having been picked up at the auction earlier this year. “You want to be a part of the biggest competitions in the world and IPL is certainly up there. It was just nice to, during the auction, get picked up and come in here with just an open mind and trying to learn and just trying to get better,” he noted.

Punjab’s chase had appeared straightforward at 97/1 before Prasidh Krishna triggered a collapse, dismissing key batters including Shreyas Iyer, Nehal Wadhera, and Marcus Stoinis. However, Connolly remained composed, bringing up his maiden IPL fifty in just 34 balls and finishing the chase alongside Xavier Bartlett.

Looking ahead, Connolly acknowledged the challenges of a tightly contested tournament. “It’s tough. It’s always going to be challenging. There’s so many great teams and everyone there has the ability to win the competition, so it’s going to be small margins to win this tournament,” he said.

Earlier, Gujarat Titans posted 162/6, with Shubman Gill (39) and Jos Buttler (38) leading the scoring, while Vijaykumar Vyshak (3/34) starred with the ball for Punjab.

–IANS

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