Cooper Conolly’s lone fight goes in vain as Punjab suffer agonizing defeat in Hyderabad – The Times of Bengal
Pat Cummins’ Sunrisers Hyderabad registered a commanding 33-run victory over title hopefuls Punjab Kings in match number 49 of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Published: May 6, 2026 11:56 PM IST
Pat Cummins’ Sunrisers Hyderabad registered a commanding 33-run victory over title hopefuls Punjab Kings in match number 49 of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. SRH were fueled by a relentless display across both departments in front of the emphatic the Orange Army home support. This win helped the 2016 champions go on top of the table with 14 points to their name.
Highlights
- Pat Cummins’ Sunrisers Hyderabad registered a commanding 33-run victory over title hopefuls Punjab Kings in match number 49 of the Indian Premier League 2026 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. SRH were fueled by a relentless display across both departments in front of the emphatic the Orange Army home support. This win helped the 2016 champions go on top of the table with 14 points to their name
Batting first, Hyderabad’s top order got off to a flyer with Abhishek Sharma (35 off 13) and Travis Head (38 off 19) providing their trademark explosive start with SRH going 79/1 within the powerplay. Punjab bowlers Lockie Ferguson and Yuzvendra Chahal did manage to remove the openers but they could not manage to stop the flow of runs that followed later.
Two explosive batters in Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan then ruled the proceedings with their quickfire 88-run partnership. Klaasen (69) smashed, with Kishan (55) also racking up a half-century. Nitish Kumar Reddy’s late cameo saw SRH finished with a mammoth total of 235/4.
Punjab’s chase began in the worst way possible as Pat Cummins and Nitish Kumar Reddy struck in the opening seven deliveries to dismiss the dangerous opening pair of Priyansh Arya (1) and Prabhsimran Singh (3) cheaply.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer, who is the catalyst of this team, also had a day off, getting out for just 5 runs off Eshan Malinga with Punjab going 119/6 within 12.3 overs.
Punjab’s Australian batter Cooper Connolly put up a monumental, lone-warrior effort with an outstanding hundred which eventually went in vain due to lack of support from the other end.
Connolly’s maiden IPL century, featuring 8 sixes, kept the net run rate healthy but it was overall a disappointing outing for Punjab batters. Shivang Kumar was the standout bowler for SRH, claiming 2/45, while Cummins led from the front with figures of 2/34.
PBKS were eventually restricted to 202/7, marking their third loss on the bounce, which has dented their playoff hopes but they are still very much in contention. Punjab has 13 points in 10 outings, with 4 more games coming up, they will have to win every match as the race for the top 4 will intensify as we run into the business end.
Also Read: Bad news for fans of Kohli’s RCB in IPL 2026, BCCI have taken HUGE decision about…
Hyderabad’s next assignment will be at the world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad on Tuesday, May 12, whereas Punjab will now fly to the hills of Himachal Pradesh and prepare for an upcoming North Indian derby against the Delhi Capitals on Monday, May 11
