The Orange Army, i.e. the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), have had a stellar run this tournament. After losing their first three matches, SRH bounced back with 5 consecutive wins, and after losing to KKR the other afternoon, they bounced back and now top the points table. SRH were put into bat first, and thanks to sparkling half-centuries from Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan, posted 235/4 with Abhishek and Head giving the team the start.
In reply, Cooper Connolly’s maiden IPL ton and in T20 cricket went in vain as SRH through Pat Cummins’ 2-wicket haul restricted PBKS to 202/7 in 20 overs and won the contest by 33 runs to top the IPL points table. RCB have slipped down to 3rd place for now.
Heinrich Klaasen & Ishan Kishan powers SRH to a massive 235/4 in 20 overs
Put into bat first, Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head came out to open for SRH while Arshdeep Singh had the ball in hand for PBKS. The Orange Army came out all guns blazing and took the Punjab Kings bowlers apart. Abhishek was the aggressor of the two, while Head got going after he got his eye in. PBKS were sloppy on the field throughout, which came back to haunt them in the end.
Abhishek was going all guns blazing as the 50 came up in the 4th over. The duo put on 54 for the first wicket in 3.3 overs before Abhishek perished for 35 off 13 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes to his name to Lockie Ferguson. Keeper batter Ishan Kishan came out to bat next. Head and Kishan forged a mini partnership and took the score to 79/1 in 6 overs of power play. The duo added 30 runs for the second wicket before Head was dismissed for 38 off 19 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes to his name.
Heinrich Klaasen came out to bat next. PBKS were sloppy on the field from here on as Ishan Kishan was put down in the deep by Cooper Connolly and given a reprieve off Lockie Ferguson. Soon, Ishan Kishan and Klaasen put on a partnership to take the game away from the Kings. Klaasen also got a chance in the deep, where Shashank put the catch down, while there was a missed stumping of Ishan.
PBKS were awful on the field and couldn’t get a breakthrough at regular intervals. It was the Heinrich Klaasen show as his unbelievable innings took the game away from the opposition. Both the batters got to their fifties. The duo put on 88 runs for the third wicket and aced the middle phase of the game before Ishan fell for 55 off 32 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes to his name to Arshdeep Singh. Nitish Kumar Reddy came out to bat next.
Klaasen and Nitish Kumar Reddy played the perfect role in the finishing act. Reddy hit some lusty blows while Klaasen was the star overall, playing a big innings. The duo aced the death overs phase and added 63 runs off 32 balls before Klaasen fell off the final ball of the innings for 69 off 43 balls with 3 fours and 4 sixes to his name to Vijaykumar Vyshak. Reddy remained unbeaten on 29 off 13 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name as SRH ended with 235/4 in 20 overs. 9 extras given by the fielding side.
It was a mixed bag for the PBKS bowlers, who did not get support from their fielders. Yuzvendra Chahal finished with figures of 1/32 in 4 overs. Lockie Ferguson finished with 1/41 in 4 overs. Arshdeep Singh finished with 1/43 in 4 overs. Vyshak Vijaykumar finished with 1/54 in 4 overs. Marco Jansen finished with 0/61 in 4 overs. This meant PBKS needed 236 runs to win off 20 overs to keep topping the points table.
Cooper Connolly’s maiden IPL ton goes in vain as Pat Cummins 2-wicket haul helped SRH restrict PBKS to 202/7
Chasing 236 for the win, Impact Player Priyansh Arya and keeper batter Prabhsimran Singh came out to bat for PBKS while captain Pat Cummins had the ball in hand for SRH. Cummins gave SRH the perfect start as he removed Arya early with the score reading 4 runs. Arya departed for 1 off 3 balls to Cummins. Cooper Connolly came out to bat next. The score was still at 4 runs when the other opener, Prabhsimran Singh, also fell for 3 off 4 balls to Nitish Kumar Reddy. Captain Shreyas Iyer came out to bat next.
Cooper and Shreyas tried to build another partnership to rebuild things and added 19 runs for the 3rd wicket before Iyer fell for 5 off 5 balls with one boundary to his name to Eshan Malinga. PBKS were 23/3 inside the power play. Marcus Stoinis came out to bat next. Stoinis and Connolly tried to forge a partnership and took the score in power play to 57/3 in 6 overs. Stoinis looked fluent out there while Connolly looked good.
Stoinis started on the front foot. The duo could add 40 runs for the 4th wicket before Stoinis fell for 28 off 14 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes to his name to Shivang Kumar. Suryansh Shedge came out to bat next and started on the front foot. Shedge looked good while he was there in the middle. The duo of Connolly and Shedge added 47 runs for the 5th wicket before Shedge fell for 25 off 17 balls with 1 four and 2 sixes to his name to Pat Cummins. Shashank Singh came out to bat next.
Shashank did not last long as he fell after a 9-run stand came to an end with Singh being dismissed for 4 off 3 balls with one boundary to his name to Sakib Hussain. Marco Jansen came out to bat next. Jansen totally played second fiddle in this partnership. It was the Cooper Connolly show from hereon. The southpaw dazzled in Hyderabad and played a lone hand as well. But there was no support from him or anyone. Jansen did well to hang in there for as long as he did.
Connolly played some delightful shots and showed his class as he dominated this partnership of 68 runs for the 7th wicket, with Connolly scoring the bulk of the runs. The score reached 187 in 19 overs when Marco Jansen fell for 19 off 16 balls with one six to his name to Shivang Kumar. Vyshak Vijaykumar came out to bat next and got off the mark as well. Then came the moment for Cooper Connolly as he registered his maiden T20 hundred, and in the IPL as well.
Connolly hit a maximum towards the backend of the innings after getting to his hundred. The 200 came up for PBKS, but a bit too late in the piece. The duo added an unbroken stand of 15 runs for the 8th wicket as PBKS ended with 202/7 in 20 overs. Connolly was unbeaten on 107 off 59 balls with 7 fours and 8 sixes to his name, while Vijaykumar was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 9 extras given by the fielding side.
SRH bowlers did the job for them tonight. Captain Pat Cummins was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/34 in 4 overs. Shivang Kumar finished with figures of 2/45 in 4 overs. Nitish Kumar Reddy finished with 1/11 in 2 overs. Eshan Malinga finished with 1/36 in 4 overs. Sakib Hussain finished with 1/40 in 4 overs. Harsh Dubey, the impact player, went for 36 runs in 2 overs. So, SRH win by 33 runs to go to the top of the points table. Pat Cummins was awarded the Player of the Match award.
What Lies Ahead
So, SRH will have a break now and will be back in action soon after a week’s break. PBKS, on the other hand, travels to Dharamsala to face DC next, before they will face MI and RCB at the same venue. So, a lot to look forward to in IPL 2026. Coming up next is LSG hosting RCB in Lucknow tomorrow night. RCB are back after a bit of a break. Let’s see how this game pans out later on Thursday night.
Also Read: SRH vs PBKS: Heinrich Klaasen’s Deadly Knock Sets Huge Target For PBKS