IPL 2026: Unbeaten so far, Punjab Kings face tricky test against Delhi Capitals
NEW DELHI: Punjab Kings’ practice session had a certain looseness to it under the scorching afternoon sun here on Friday. The easy-going kind that often signals quiet confidence. Priyansh Arya was among the first to take guard, his bat coming down with a crisp certainty that echoed through the nets.
Beside him, Prabhsimran Singh moved with fluency, switching between controlled drives and some audacious pick-up shots while Cooper Connolly, unhurried and observant, slipped into rhythm as if he were calibrating his next match-winning innings. It wasn’t a loud session but it didn’t need to be. There was enough in the body language – the stillness between shots, the clarity in execution — to suggest a batting unit that knows where it stands.
Arya, in particular, has added dynamism to Punjab’s top order this season. There has more intent in the way he has batted. Prabhsimran, too, seems to have rediscovered his balance while Connolly’s presence in the middle-order has lent the lineup a sense of assuredness.
That sense of control mirrors what the team believes is its biggest gain over the past year. “The culture which has been built by (coach) Ricky (Ponting), the values which have been built by him from last year itself, have been taken forward this year,” Punjab’s spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said. Punjab’s journey hasn’t been about sudden transformation but about refinement.
They came close last season and instead of dismantling, they chose to build further on what worked. “So, the success of last year... yes, we didn’t go further and win the final, but I think that culture which was created, the same sort of values have been taken forward,” Bahutule said as Punjab geared up for Saturday’s match against Delhi Capitals.