Punjab Kings starlet Cooper Connolly scripted history on Wednesday at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad with his unbeaten ton, which ultimatelynwent in vain.
Connolly’s unbeaten 107-run knock made him the youngest overseas player to score a century in the money-rich T20 franchise league despite PBKS falling short of the target.
Connolly, at 22yrs 257d erased Quinton de Kock’s record in the list of youngest overseas cricketers to score a century in the competition.
SRH piled up 235 runs, built on half-centuries from Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan after brisk starts from openers Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head. They then restricted PBKS to 202/7, rendering Connolly’s unbeaten ton futile.
PBKS won the toss and captain Shreyas Iyer
chose to field, with Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head opening for SRH. Abhishek blazed 35 off just 13 balls before Lockie Ferguson dismissed him, bringing Ishan Kishan to the crease alongside the Australian.
Head was removed by Yuzvendra Chahal for a 19-ball 38, with Marco Jansen taking the catch in the deep, after which Klaasen and Kishan steered SRH past 100 in the 8th over.
Kishan peppered the boundary to raise his fifty and push SRH beyond 150 in the 14th over, with Klaasen providing solid support. The pair also benefited from some sloppy fielding by Punjab.
Arshdeep Singh finally broke the stand by sending Kishan back for 55, after which Klaasen took command, registering yet another half-century this season. His 69 off 43 deliveries powered SRH to 235 before he fell to Vyshak Vijaykumar, while Nitish Kumar Reddy remained unbeaten on 29 from 13 balls.
PBKS’ reply began disastrously as openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh were dismissed by Pat Cummins and Nitish Kumar Reddy for 1 and 3 respectively. Shreyas Iyer departed early for 5, with Eashan Malinga removing the skipper to leave the visitors in deeper trouble.
Connolly then anchored the innings with a superb fifty, even as PBKS lost Marcus Stoinis for 28 off 14 to Shivang Kumar. Suyash Hedge contributed 25 from 17 before SRH captain Cummins claimed his second wicket.
Shashank Singh was dismissed by Shakib Hussain for 4 off 3, and Shivang struck again to remove Marco Jansen for 19 off 16. Connolly battled on to reach his maiden IPL century, but his lone-hand effort ultimately served only as a consolation.
