{"id":1093,"date":"2026-04-01T01:42:33","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T01:42:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/?p=1093"},"modified":"2026-04-01T01:42:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T01:42:33","slug":"ipl-26-punjab-kings-edge-out-gujarat-titans-in-mullanpur-thriller","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/?p=1093","title":{"rendered":"IPL 26 \u2013Punjab Kings Edge Out Gujarat Titans in Mullanpur Thriller"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>IPL 26 \u2013Punjab Kings Edge Out Gujarat Titans in Mullanpur Thriller<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>(Match Report, !st April, Navneet Bansal, exclusive for Newsroom 7) <\/strong>MULLANPUR \u2013 In a high-octane encounter at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium, Home team, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) secured a dramatic 3-wicket victory over the Gujarat Titans (GT), chasing down a target of 163 with just five balls to spare. The night belonged to IPL debutant Cooper Connolly, whose composed half-century turned the tide in a game that swung like a pendulum until the very last over.<\/p>\n<p>Punjab\u2019s pursuit of <strong>163<\/strong> got off to a rocky start when opener Priyansh Arya fell early. While Shreyas Iyer injected some much-needed adrenaline with two towering sixes, GT\u2019s pace spearhead Prasidh Krishna <strong>(3\/29)<\/strong> threatened to derail the innings entirely. Krishna\u2019s fiery spell removed Marcus Stoinis for a golden duck, leaving the Kings reeling. However, the <strong>22-year-old<\/strong> Australian, Cooper Connolly, showed nerves of steel. In his first-ever IPL outing, Connolly anchored the innings with a spectacular <strong>72<\/strong> off <strong>44<\/strong> balls. His ability to find the gaps during the middle overs kept the required rate in check, even as wickets fell at the other end.As the game headed into the final stretch, the tension was palpable. Xavier Bartlett played a vital supporting role, clearing the ropes at a crucial juncture to bring the equation down. With <strong>165<\/strong> runs eventually on the board, it was Connolly who fittingly hit the winning boundary in the <strong>20th<\/strong> over, sparking wild celebrations in the Punjab dugout.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier in the evening, Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bat, but the Titans found it difficult to break free against a disciplined PBKS bowling attack.<br \/>\nShubman Gill looked elegant for his <strong>39<\/strong> off <strong>27<\/strong> balls, but he failed to convert his start into a big score.<br \/>\nVijay kumar Vyshak was the standout performer for Punjab with the ball, finishing with figures of 3\/34. His clever variations, including the prized scalp of Rashid Khan in the final over, restricted GT to a total of 162\/6. Xavier Bartlett also contributed in the field with a stunning mid-air catch to dismiss the dangerous Jos Buttler, a moment that shifted the early momentum in Punjab\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n<p>This victory propels Punjab Kings into the top four, joining Rajasthan Royals, RCB, and Mumbai Indians with two points. For the Gujarat Titans, it\u2019s a tough start to the <strong>2026<\/strong> campaign, as they leave Mullanpur with plenty of questions regarding their middle-order acceleration.<br \/>\nBrief Scores:<br \/>\nGujarat Titans: <strong>162\/6<\/strong> (Shubman Gill <strong>39<\/strong>; Vijay kumar Vyshak 3\/34, Yuzvendra Chahal <strong>2\/28<\/strong> )<br \/>\nPunjab Kings: <strong>165\/7<\/strong> in <strong>19.1<\/strong> overs (Cooper Connolly <strong>72<\/strong>, Prabbsimrann <strong>37<\/strong>; Prasidh Krishna <strong>3\/29<\/strong>)<br \/>\nMan of the Match: <strong>Cooper Connolly<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Today another exciting Match is scheduled in Nawabo ka Shahar, Lucknow between Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals and that will end first round of matches in 19th season of IPL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IPL 26 \u2013Punjab Kings Edge Out Gujarat Titans in Mullanpur Thriller (Match Report, !st April, Navneet Bansal, exclusive for Newsroom 7) MULLANPUR \u2013 In a high-octane encounter at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh PCA Stadium, Home team, the Punjab Kings (PBKS) secured a dramatic 3-wicket victory over the Gujarat Titans (GT), chasing down a target of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1094,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1093"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1095,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1093\/revisions\/1095"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsroom7.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}