IPL 2026: Cooper Connolly’s unbeaten ton in vain after Sunrisers Hyderabad defeat Punjab Kings by 33 runs
Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Punjab Kings by 33 runs to move to the top of the IPL table after posting 235/4. Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan starred with the bat, while Punjab’s poor fielding and dropped catches proved costly. Cooper Connolly’s unbeaten century was not enough as PBKS slumped to their third straight loss and ninth consecutive defeat in Hyderabad.
NEW DELHI: Sunrisers Hyderabad outplayed Punjab Kings by 33 runs in a high-scoring IPL clash on Wednesday, climbing to the top of the points table. SRH piled up a massive 235/4, thanks to strong knocks from Heinrich Klaasen (69 off 43) and Ishan Kishan (55 off 32), while Punjab could only manage 202/7 in reply. Punjab’s poor fielding proved costly throughout the match.
The team dropped multiple easy catches, missed a simple stumping, and gave SRH batters several lifelines. Klaasen and Kishan especially made the most of those errors, punishing the bowlers after being dropped repeatedly. SRH dominate with bat and ball The match was largely decided during the powerplay.
SRH openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head attacked from the start, taking the team to 79/1 in six overs. In contrast, Punjab struggled badly and ended their powerplay at 57/3 after quick wickets of Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and Shreyas Iyer. Abhishek smashed 35 off just 13 balls, while Head scored 38 off 19 to give Hyderabad the perfect start.
Later, Klaasen and Kishan continued the assault, with SRH hitting 17 sixes overall. Nitish Reddy also chipped in with a quick unbeaten 29. Punjab’s bowlers had a rough outing, especially Marco Jansen and Arshdeep Singh, who together leaked 100 runs in eight overs.