Connolly seals the deal with a boundary! The Punjab Kings have chased down the target with three wickets and five balls to spare, starting their 2026 campaign on a high. Cooper Connolly finishes a sensational IPL debut unbeaten on 72 off 46 balls, single-handedly guiding his side home through a tense middle-order collapse. While the Kings celebrate a hard-fought win, the Gujarat Titans will head back to the drawing board after letting a winning position slip.

Two needed off the final over! Will Gill go for Rabada, Siraj or the debutant Ashok? Connolly will face the first ball of the final over. 

WICKET for debutant Ashok Sharma! First wicket of his IPL career. It was a back of the hand slower one and Jansen hits it early. Hits it straight to Gill at the edge of the circle

Marco Jansen c Shubman Gill b Ashok Sharma 9 (10)

144/7 (17.4)

Jansen joins the party! He has launched it over the wide long-on boundary. PBKS are now in cruise control.

PBKS: 139/6 (16.2)

Fifty on debut for Cooper Connolly! It has taken the young Australian just 34 balls to reach the milestone, and he has done it with pure class. In a chase where wickets have tumbled around him, Connolly is playing the role of the lone warrior for the Punjab Kings. A truly remarkable masterclass from the debutant!

PBKS: 125/6 (15.1)

Another one bites the dust! Stoinis has to walk back for a duck. Short of a length outside off stump, Stoinis leans back and ramps it to deep third. Easy catch for Rashid

Marcus Stoinis c Rashid Khan b Prasidh Krishna 0 (2)

PBKS: 118/6 (14.4)

Edged and gone! The Gujarat Titans are fighting back tooth and nail, and it's the Impact Player Prasidh Krishna leading the charge. He has his second wicket in quick succession as Shashank Singh tried to guide a short-of-length delivery toward third man, only to manage a faint edge through to Jos Buttler.

Shashank Singh c Buttler b Prasidh Krishna 4 (5)

PBKS: 118/5 (14.2)

Taken at covers! Wadhera disappoints. He came well out of his crease and slapped it straight at Gill. Wicket for Washington Sundar

Nehal Wadhera c Shubman Gill b Washington Sundar 3 (6)

PBKS: 113/4 (13.1)

Shreyas hits this straight to deep midwicket! He has simply clipped a friendly half-volley off his pads. Maybe the injury to the wrist played a part in this. Prasidh Krishna strikes!

Shreyas Iyer c Washington Sundar b Prasidh Krishna 18 (11)

110/3 (12.1)

A nasty blow for Shreyas Iyer! The PBKS captain is in visible pain after being struck flush on the wrist by a fierce shot from Connolly. The physio was out immediately with the ice pack, but thankfully, after a brief assessment, the skipper is fit to continue.

There is a bit of drizzle in the air! It's not enough to stop play just yet, but the ground staff are looking anxious. The DLS par score at this stage is 72, and with the way they are striking it, PBKS are well ahead of the curve.

Rashid strikes! Prabhsimran holes out to long-on. This was struck hard and flat but could not get under the ball enough to get the elevation needed to clear the boundary. Prasidh Krishna takes a good catch

Prabhsimran Singh c Prasidh Krishna b Rashid Khan 37 (24)

83/2 (9.3)

Hammered into the stands! Connolly is absolutely on fire. He stands his ground and clobbers the ball high and long, 103 metres to be precise! That's the seventh six of the innings already, and the Punjab Kings are truly flying here in Mullanpur.
PBKS: 70/1 (7.2)

Connolly on the charge! Stood and delivered! He lifts his bat high and brings it down in a flash, carving the ball over the point boundary for a massive six. It is a dream debut so far for the young Aussie!

PBKS: 45/1 (4.4)

Back-to-back sixes for Prabhsimran! He welcomes Rabada back into the attack in spectacular style. It was uncharacteristically poor bowling from the veteran, and Prabhsimran punished him ruthlessly. The momentum has swung back to the Kings in an instant!

PBKS: 30/1 (3.2)

Rabada strikes! A hostile short ball from the speedster forced Priyansh into a hurried pull, resulting in a thick top edge. Debutant Ashok Sharma kept his composure to take a comfortable catch just outside the inner circle. Rabada is absolutely pumped!
Priyansh Arya c Ashok Sharma b Rabada 7 (8)
GT: 7/1 (1.2)

Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh to open the innings for Punjab Kings while Mohammed Siraj will bowl the first over for Gujarat Titans! Game on!

Marathon over from Arshdeep comes to an end! After four wides and one no-ball, Gujrat Titans finish with 162/6 at the end of their innings. Vyshak and Chahal shine with three and two wickets, respectively. Gill top-scored with 39 followed by cameo of 38 and 25 from Buttler and Phillips, respectively. PBKS to chase 163

Another wicket for Vyshak! He finishes his spell with impressive figures of 3/34. Shahrukh Khan failed to impress tonight; he planted his front foot and swung hard across the line, only to see Arshdeep Singh settle under the high ball near the boundary to complete a clinical catch.

M Shahrukh Khan c Arshdeep Singh b Vyshak 4 (6)

PBKS: 150/6 (19)

Play resumes after an unexpected delay! The third umpire's decision on a PBKS challenge seemed to take an eternity. After a prolonged deliberation over the replays, we are finally back underway in Mullanpur.

Sundar finds the man at deep point! A clever slower delivery from Vyshak saw Sundar attempt a lofted cut. While he found the elevation, he lacked the pace to clear the boundary, picking out Arshdeep Singh, who made no mistake in the deep.
GT: 144/5 (18.1)

Sundar finds the gap! That's the first boundary in three overs for the Gujarat Titans. It was a rare wayward delivery from Bartlett, and Sundar punished it, beating the fielder with a clinical leg glance. Much-needed runs for GT as they look to shift the momentum back in their favor.
GT: 143/4 (17.4)

Buttler holes out! He was struggling against spin and Chahal outfoxes him. Tries to take the aerial route and he almost managed to clear the boundary rope. However, Bartlett positioned himself well on the boundary and jumped up to take the catch over his head

Jos Buttler c Bartlett b Chahal 38 (33)

PBKS: 129/4 (15.4)

Phillips holes out! Pressure gets the better of him. He mis-timed the lofted shot straight to long off. Easy catch for Jansen in the deep.

Glenn Phillips c Jansen b Vyshak 25 (17)

PBKS: 119/3 (14)

Drama in Mullanpur! Buttler and Phillips are in deep conversation with the officials as the wind picks up. With a 27% chance of rain tonight, everyone is looking anxiously at the skies. For now, the players remain on the field, but the ground staff are on high alert.

Glenn Phillips goes after Chahal! The Kiwi smashed a six and a four in the over, keeping GT ticking after a couple of tight overs from the Punjab Kings. This is turning out to be a brilliant cameo from the GT debutant on his first outing.
GT: 102/2 (12)

Chahal gets the better of Gill! The GT captain holes out in the deep. He got down on one knee and attempted the slog sweep. Only manages to find Connolly in the deep. Good catch from the young Aussie

GT: 83/2 (9.3)

Buttler brings out the ramp! He moves towards the off side and edges the ball wide of the keeper and to the fine leg boundary. Decent start for Buttler. 
GT: 76/1 (9)

Terrific over from Chahal! Perfect line and length from the veteran leggie. 

Early success for @punjabkingsipl@ShubmanGill going strong for @gujarat_titans #GT 54/1 after 6 overs
Updates https://t.co/75rCxTCOL1#TATAIPL | #KhelBindaas | #PBKSvGT pic.twitter.com/GnHFGA5MkO

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) March 31, 2026

Launched over the sightscreen! That's vintage Jos Buttler. Vyshak tried to bowl a slower one but his length was too full. Buttler waited and slammed it over the bowler's head. That will somewhat boost his confidence. 

GT: 62/1 (6.3)

A solid Powerplay for Gujarat Titans, barring the wicket of Sai Sudharsan. Shubman Gill has looked lively from ball one, though Marco Jansen managed to provide PBKS with a vital breakthrough after GT's flying start. All eyes now turn to Jos Buttler; it has been a challenging 12 months for the former England captain, and he'll be eager to find his best form tonight.

PBKS: 54/1 (6)

Gill uses his feet once again! He steps out of his crease, moving slightly towards the leg side to make room before carving a shorter delivery over point and away to the boundary.
GT: 47/1 (5)

WICKET! Miscued straight to mid-off. Jansen strikes as PBKS get their breakthrough. It may have straightened a touch too, he ended up slicing it straight to Shreyas Iyer

Sai Sudharsan c Iyer b Jansen 13 (11)

GT: 37/1 (3.4)

Back-to-back boundaries for Gill! Not the ideal start for Bartlett in the IPL. The GT captain danced down the track both times with the same clinical outcome. This is top-tier batting from Gill, showing exactly why he's one of the best in the business.
GT: 17/0 (1.3)

Eight runs off the first over! Decent start for GT. Sai collected a boundary on the fourth ball of Arshdeep Singh's bolwing. 

Punjab Kings (Playing XI): Prabhsimran Singh(w), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer(c), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal

Gujarat Titans (Playing XI): Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, M Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Mohammed Siraj

Gujarat Titans have handed caps to two debutants: Glenn Phillips and Ashok Sharma. Ashok, one of the fastest young bowlers in India, has been part of the Rajasthan Royals set-up previously but is yet to feature in an IPL match. The Titans' decision to pick the youngster comes as no surprise, especially after he was clocked at 150 kmph during this year's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT).

Punjab Kings captain Shreyas Iyer has won the toss and opted to bowl against Gujarat Titans. Cooper Connolly, Xavier Bartlett, Marcus Stoinis, and Marco Jansen. Gujarat Titans have confirmed two debutants, including Glenn Phillips. He joins Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, and Jos Buttler to round out their powerhouse overseas contingent.

We are just under 20 minutes away from toss in Mullanpur! Both sides will be desperate to win today to get a good start in the tournament.

The toss will be vital tonight as the team batting second often holds a better chance of winning here in Mullanpur. Interestingly, there hasn't been much dew during the evening training sessions over the past couple of days. The track does look a bit dry under a light grass cover, but it remains rock hard.

PBKS and GT have squared off six times in the IPL with three wins apiece. Both teams won their respective home matches last season. However, Punjab were notably vulnerable at home last year despite topping the table; they managed only two wins at their home ground during the 2025 campaign.

For PBKS coach Ricky Ponting, their squad this season is better from what it was last year. They will also have a new No. 3 in Australia's Cooper Connolly as a replacement for Josh Inglis, who was released ahead of IPL 2026 due to availability issues. Ponting feels Connolly's addition to the side gives more balance to the team.

Shubman Gill is 88 runs away from 5,500 runs in T20s. In the IPL, he has scored 3,866 runs in 115 innings. Gill will be eager to make a statement, having been dropped from the T20I side. Since 2023, only Virat Kohli has scored more IPL runs than him, but the focus has shifted from consistency to strike rate.

For Gujarat, they look one of the most settled units again, retaining 20 players. The opening pair of Gill and Sai Sudharsan -- last season's top scorer with 759 runs -- remains their biggest strength. Since lifting the title in 2022, GT have been one of the most consistent teams in the tournament.

The hunger to win the IPL trophy is burning more than ever now for Shreyas Iyer, who is keen to do one better in the 2026 season. However, much will again depend on captain Shreyas, a proven IPL leader who has now taken three different teams to the final (Delhi Capitals in 2020, KKR in their 2024 triumph and PBKS last season) and their explosive openers, Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the IPL 2026 clash between Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans. It's the first game of the new campaign for both sides. Both had similar journeys last season, with Punjab finishing as runners-up, while GT bowed out in the playoffs.