3 moments that generated a buzz amongst followers in Match 4 ft. Cooper Connolly

Punjab Kings (PBKS) trumped Gujarat Titans (GT) by three wickets in their 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) opener on Tuesday, March 31. PBKS won the toss and chose to field first at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Mullanpur.

GT posted 162/6 in 20 overs, with skipper Shubman Gill (39 off 27) and wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler (38 off 33) playing important knocks. However, none of their batters scored at a strike rate of over 150, and they failed to up the ante towards the back end.

Gujarat managed just 34 from the last five overs. Pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak picked up three wickets, while veteran leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal bagged two scalps.

There was some drama in the run chase as Punjab lost wickets at regular intervals. However, Cooper Connolly‘s unbeaten 72 off 44 helped the team overhaul the score in 19.1 overs. Prasidh Krishna was the pick of the Gujarat bowlers, recording excellent figures of 4-0-29-3.

Here, we take a look at three moments from the clash that generated a buzz among the fans.

#3 Arshdeep Singh bowls the joint-longest over in IPL history

Arshdeep Singh struggled to get his line right in the final over of the GT innings. The left-arm seamer kicked off the over with a wide but bounced back with bowling back-to-back dot balls.

However, it was all downhill for him after that. Rahul Tewatia hit the PBKS bowler for a four over short fine-leg on the third ball. Arshdeep ended up bowling one no-ball and three wides in the remaining deliveries.

He bowled an 11-ball over, the joint-longest in the league’s history. He matched Tushar Deshpande, Hardik Pandya, Shardul Thakur, Sandeep Sharma, and Mohammed Siraj for the unwanted record. Arshdeep had a forgettable outing, remaining wicketless and conceding 42 runs from his four overs.

#2 Xavier Bartlett takes stunning boundary catch to dismiss Jos Buttler

PBKS leg spinner Yuzvendra Chahal provided his team with a big breakthrough by removing the well-set Jos Buttler in the 16th over. The GT batter went for a big hit towards long-on off a full delivery.

He got decent connection and it initially seemed that the ball would land outside the boundary rope. However, Xavier Bartlett timed his jump to perfection to pluck a wonderful catch. Buttler getting out at that juncture played a big role in GT failing to finish the innings on a high note.

#1 PBKS debutant Cooper Connolly slams 103m six off Rashid Khan’s bowling

Cooper Connolly shone with the bat on his IPL debut. The southpaw struck five sixes and as many fours. He paced his innings brilliantly and ultimately took his team to victory.

Even ace leg spinner Rashid Khan had no answers against the Australian all-rounder. The GT star dished out a short delivery on the second ball of the eighth over. Connolly picked the length early and clobbered a massive 103m six over the long-on fence.