Sunrisers Hyderabad has defeated Punjab Kings by 33 runs. This is the third consecutive defeat of the Punjab team in the IPL 2026 season. This is the same team which had not lost even a single match in the first seven matches. Cooper Connolly kept fighting till the end, but his century inning of 107 runs could not give victory to Punjab.
In this match played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, SRH team batted first and scored 235 runs. Ishan Kishan and Heinrich Klaasen scored strong half-centuries, but they also got many lives. Poor fielding of Punjab team also played a big role in helping Hyderabad reach big score.
Cooper Connolly’s century did not work
Punjab Kings, who came to chase the huge target of 236 runs, did not have a good start as both the openers were out by the score of 4 runs. Cooper Connolly came to bat in the second over of the innings, he fought till the end and returned unbeaten after scoring 107 runs in 59 balls. In this innings he hit 7 fours and 8 sixes.
Cooper may not have been able to lead Punjab to victory, but had he not scored a century, Punjab’s net run rate would have fallen drastically. Captain Shreyas Iyer was also a flop, who could score only 5 runs. Marcus Stoinis contributed 28 runs and Suryansh Shedge contributed 25 runs, but no other batsman could support Connolly.
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Punjab’s third consecutive defeat
This is the third consecutive defeat of Punjab Kings in the season. It remained on the top of the table for a very long time, but now Sunrisers Hyderabad has captured the first place. On the other hand, Hyderabad team has taken steps towards the playoffs, because it has 14 points. SRH have three matches left, a win in which will almost ensure their place in the playoffs.
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