Punjab Kings Beat Gujarat Titans By 3 Wickets In IPL 2026 Thriller

Punjab Kings began their Indian Premier League 2026 season with a closely fought three-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in Mullanpur.

After being put into bat, the Gujarat Titans posted a total of 162/6 in their 20 overs.

Sai Sudharsan and captain Shubman Gill started positively, adding 37 runs for the opening wicket in 3.4 overs. Sudharsan was dismissed for 13, after which Gill and Jos Buttler added 46 runs for the second wicket to stabilise the innings.

Gill scored 39 runs off 27 balls, including six boundaries, before departing. Buttler then built a 36-run partnership with Glenn Phillips to take the total past 100. Buttler made 38, Phillips contributed 25, and Washington Sundar added 18 runs.

Vijaykumar Vyshak led the bowling effort with three wickets for the Punjab Kings. Yuzvendra Chahal claimed two wickets, while Marco Jansen took one.

In response, Punjab Kings successfully chased down the target in 19.1 overs, despite losing Priyansh Arya early for 7. Connolly then formed a crucial 76-run partnership with Prabhsimran Singh, guiding the team to a stable position.

Prabhsimran scored 37 off 24 balls, including four sixes and one four, before being dismissed. Connolly continued to anchor the innings and added 27 runs with captain Shreyas Iyer, who scored 18.

Although wickets continued to fall at intervals, Connolly remained steady and built important partnerships, including 26 runs with Jansen and an unbeaten 21-run stand with Xavier Bartlett.

Connolly remained unbeaten on 72 off 44 balls, striking five sixes and five fours to guide Punjab Kings to victory.

For the Gujarat Titans, Prasidh Krishna claimed three wickets. Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Rashid Khan, and Sundar picked up one wicket each.

Also Read: IPL 2026: Punjab Kings Limit Gujarat Titans To 162/6 As Vyshak Claims Three Wickets