Cooper Connolly created history and emulated his childhood idol Shaun Marsh as he inspired Punjab Kings (PBKS) to a thrilling three-wicket victory over Gujarat Titans (GT) in their opening game of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL). The Australian star made 72 runs in just 44 balls while staying unbeaten on the crease as the 2025 finalist chased down a total of 163 with five balls to spare.
Connolly was making his debut in the IPL and ensured the home side got over the line despite a dramatic middle-order collapse. He walked out to bat at number three after Priyansh Arya’s dismissal in the second over. The 22-year-old hit five boundaries and five maximums in his innings against men.
Breaking It Down
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Cooper Connolly Creates History
Connolly emulated Shaun and made the second-highest individual score by a PBKS batter on debut for the franchise. The orange cap winner of the first IPL season had made an unbeaten knock of 84 runs in 62 balls on his first appearance for the franchise (then known as Kings XI Punjab) against the Deccan Chargers. In fact, that still remains the record for the most runs by a player while chasing on debut in the world’s richest cricket league with Connolly now climbing to second on the list.
| Player | Runs | Team | Opponent | Venue | Year |
| Brendon McCullum | 158 | KKR | RCB | Bengaluru | 2008 |
| Michael Hussey | 116 | CSK | KXIP | Mohali | 2008 |
| Shaun Marsh | 84 | KXIP | DC (Deccan) | Hyderabad | 2008 |
| Kyle Mayers | 73 | LSG | DC | Lucknow | 2023 |
| Cooper Connolly | 72 | PBKS | GT | New Chandigarh | 2026 |
This makes Connolly’s knock the highest by a debutant, who is not opening in 18 years, with only Michael Hussey’s century against the Punjab-based side in Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) first-ever IPL match higher than his among players that batted at number three or below on their IPL debut. This means the Australian star most often runs by a debutant non-opener in a run chase, a record previously held by Kumar Sangakkara for 18 years.
Most Runs By Non-Opener While Chasing On IPL Debut
| Player | Batting Position | Runs | Team | Opponent | Venue | Year |
| Cooper Connolly | 3 | 72 | PBKS | GT | New Chandigarh | 2026 |
| Kumar Sangakkara | 4 | 54 | KXIP | CSK | Mohali | 2008 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 3 | 52 | DD | RR | Delhi | 2008 |
Connolly has joined Shaun, Sangakkara, KL Rahul, and Chris Gayle in a rare group of players to score a half-century on their debut for PBKS. Meanwhile,
Cooper Connolly-Shaun Marsh Connection
Hailing from Western Australia, which was also Shaun’s home state, Connolly revealed that the left-handed top-order batter was his idol growing up, and he even copied his batting stance. Interestingly, the youngster even wears the same jersey number as Shaun (9) for Australia. Before deciding on taking the number, Connolly sent a message to his idol to get permission.
“I sent him a message asking for his thoughts. He said he’s happy for me to do that and (replied), ‘It’d be an honour for me to pass it over to you’,” said Connolly in a chat with Cricket Australia.
Connolly was signed by the -led side for ₹3 crores in the 2026 IPL mega auction held in Abu Dhabi. PBKS is special for Shaun as it is the only team he played for in the IPL in his career between 2008 and 2017. He played 71 games and scored 2477 runs at an average of 39.95.
In fact, Shaun won the orange cap in the first-ever IPL season in 2008, as he made 616 runs despite playing only 11 games. This led to him earning his first-ever Australia call-up.
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