Cooper Connolly left Punjab Kings camp mid-IPL and flew back to Austr…

Punjab Kings (PBKS) have provided an important update regarding the fitness of Australian all-rounder Cooper Connolly in IPL 2026. mwafrika.life

Following Punjab Kings' emphatic 54-run win over Lucknow Super Giants on April 19, Connolly had flown to Perth for a quick scan to assess his fitness.

PBKS spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule confirmed that Connolly will be available for the table-toppers' clash against Delhi Capitals on Saturday, April 25th.

"He's ready and raring to go" - Bahutule

Speaking before the match, Bahutule said that Connolly was "very much available" for the clash against DC.

"Yes, he's very much available. He just went there and has come back. He's ready and raring to go."

The 22-year-old southpaw had flown back to Australia for scans on his back while Cricket Australia monitored his bowling fitness.

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Playing his first IPL season, Connolly has impressed everyone, having made 223 runs at a strike rate of 164 with two fifties, including an 87 in just 46 balls in the last match. He is yet to bowl his left-arm spin in IPL 2026.

"Punjab Kings need to improve with the new-ball" - Bahutule

Even though the Punjab Kings are yet to lose a single match in IPL 2026, Bahutule said that there are some areas the team needs to work on.

Out of the 6 matches they have played so far, the Punjab Kings have won 5 matches, while 1 match has been a no-result.

Bahutule said that the IPL 2025 runners-up needed to improve with the new ball. "When it comes to bowling, the new-ball phase has been decent, but that's an area we need to improve. The middle and death overs have been fabulous for us," he said.

Bahutule also talked about the excellent batting performances that Punjab's top order has put up.

"Going forward, there will be situations where the batters might not get a start, but I think we are very well-equipped. There is depth in our batting," he added.

Also Read: DC vs PBKS Dream11 Prediction Today Match, Dream11 Team Today, Fantasy Cricket Tips, Playing XI, Pitch Report, Injury Update- IPL 2026, Match 35

PBKS have momentum, DC need work

PBKS and DC will face each other in Delhi in the afternoon match on Saturday, 25 April. The visitors are unbeaten, but hosts Delhi Capitals are reeling from a 47-run loss to Sunrisers Hyderabad.

DC are currently sixth on the points with 3 wins and 3 losses each from their six matches. Punjab Kings are first after being unbeaten and are currently running on a three-match win streak.

Cooper Connolly will be expected to continue his good run of form against a DC bowling attack that conceded 242 runs in their last match.

The Capitals are currently tied on six points with two other teams and do not have a good net run rate to boast of. Even if they win, they will be tied on points with fourth-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad but have a worse NRR than the Orange Army. SRH, though, might go up to second place since they will be playing the night match on Saturday.

બેંગલુરુના એમ.ચિન્નાસ્વામી સ્ટેડિયમ ખાતે રમાયેલી IPL 2026ની 34મી મેચમાં રોયલ ચેલેન્જર્સ બેંગ્લુરૂએ (RCB) ગુજરાત ટાઇટન્સને 5 વિકેટથી હરાવ્યું.RCB એ ટોસ જીતીને પ્રથમ બોલિંગ કરવાનો નિર્ણય લીધો,જેનાથી ગુજરાત 20 ઓવરમાં 205/3 પર સીમિત રહ્યું.લક્ષ્યનો પીછો કરતા,RCB એ 18.5 ઓવરમાં 206/5 બનાવીને મેચ જીતી લીધી. આ પ્રભાવશાળી વિજયથી રોયલ ચેલેન્જર્સ બેંગ્લોરે પોઈન્ટ ટેબલમાં ઉપર કૂદકો મારવામાં પણ મદદ કરી.

RCB ટોપ-2માં પ્રવેશ

આ જીત સાથે,રોયલ ચેલેન્જર્સ બેંગ્લોરે 7 મેચમાં 5 જીત મેળવી છે. તેઓ અત્યાર સુધી ફક્ત 2 મેચ હારી ગયા છે, અને 10 પોઈન્ટ ધરાવે છે. આ જીત સાથે, RCB પોઈન્ટ ટેબલમાં +1.101 ના નેટ રન રેટ સાથે બીજા સ્થાને પહોંચી ગયું છે. આ મેચ પહેલા, તેઓ ત્રીજા સ્થાને હતા. દરમિયાન, પંજાબ કિંગ્સ 11 પોઈન્ટ સાથે ટોચ પર છે, પરંતુ રાજસ્થાન રોયલ્સ 10 પોઈન્ટ સાથે ત્રીજા સ્થાને સરકી ગયું છે. તેમનો નેટ રન રેટ RCB કરતા ઓછો છે.

ગુજરાત ટાઇટન્સને મોટું નુકસાન

બીજી તરફ,ગુજરાત ટાઇટન્સ પોઈન્ટ ટેબલમાં ખૂબ જ ખરાબ સ્થિતિમાં છે. તેઓએ આ સિઝનમાં અત્યાર સુધી સાત મેચ રમી છે, પરંતુ ફક્ત ત્રણ જ જીતી છે અને ચારમાં હારનો સામનો કરવો પડ્યો છે. પરિણામે, તેઓ છ પોઈન્ટ અને -0.790 ના નબળા નેટ રન રેટ સાથે સાતમા સ્થાને છે. આગામી મેચો પ્લેઓફ દાવેદારીની દ્રષ્ટિએ ગુજરાત માટે મહત્વપૂર્ણ રહેશે.

RCB એ મેચ એકતરફી જીતી

આ મેચમાં, યુવા બેટ્સમેન સાઈ સુદર્શને ગુજરાત ટાઇટન્સ માટે શાનદાર સદી ફટકારી. તેણે માત્ર 58 બોલમાં 100 રન બનાવ્યા, જેમાં 11 ચોગ્ગા અને પાંચ છગ્ગાનો સમાવેશ થાય છે. શુભમન ગિલે 32 રન, જોસ બટલરે 25 રન અને જેસન હોલ્ડરે અણનમ 23 રન બનાવ્યા. RCB માટે ભુવનેશ્વર કુમાર, જોશ હેઝલવુડ અને સુયશ શર્માએ એક-એક વિકેટ લીધી. લક્ષ્યનો પીછો કરતા, વિરાટ કોહલીએ 44 બોલમાં 81 રનની ઝડપી ઇનિંગ રમી, જ્યારે દેવદત્ત પડિકલે 27 બોલમાં 55 રન બનાવ્યા. કૃણાલ પંડ્યાએ અંતિમ ઓવરોમાં અણનમ 23 રન બનાવીને ટીમને વિજય અપાવ્યો.

આ પણ વાંચો- Shubman Gill Statement: અમારા માટે એ ત્રણ ઓવર, RCB સામે હાર્યા બાદ શુભમન ગિલે હારનું ઠીકરૂ કોના પર ફોડ્યુ

Former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist had an unexpected meet-up with a very different Ricky Ponting recently — one with fur and paws.

Gilchrist Instagrammed a series of images of a pet dog (incidentally named after legendary Australian skipper) belonging to the owners of a cafe in Brisbane.

Gilchrist didn’t waste the opportunity to crack a joke on his former Aussie teammate. “Always great when you run into old mates unexpectedly,” he captioned the post.

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The Shreyas Iyer-led Punjab Kings will take on hosts Delhi Capitals with an eye on keeping their top spot intact in the points table. Iyer & Co, who have 11 points from five wins out of their six matches so far with one being a washout, have looked solid in all departments and bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule attributes this to the team’s leader.

“Shreyas is a Mumbai boy so I’ve seen his growth over time. His leadership qualities are special because he feels that he’s not just responsible for himself, but also for the other 10 guys on the field. Besides, his collaboration with the support staff and guys who are not playing, is phenomenal too,” said Bahutule at the match-eve conference here on Friday.

The scene where Iyer hugged all-rounder Shashank Singh, meaning to protect him from coach Ricky Ponting’s ire after Singh had a poor outing in the field against LSG at Mullanpur (April 19) is most endearing. “I feel the rapport Shreyas has with each player… he understands them well and knows exactly how to get the best out of a player. He is someone who’s very calm and composed in terms of his understanding towards any situation,” said Bahutule.

For PBKS, their openers Priyansh Arya and Prabhsimran Singh have been solid, as is their bowling department led by pacer Arshdeep Singh who has 6 wickets so far. Meanwhile, DC (six points), who have won three matches and lost three, head into this tie on the back of a 47-run loss to the Sunrisers Hyderabad. They will be hoping that KL Rahul and Sameer Rizvi can be back among the big runs.

14
No of wins for PBKS under Shreyas Iyer in 22 matches

The Indian women’s hockey team (World No. 9) gave an impressive account of themselves on their recent tour to Argentina, finishing the four-match series against the World No. 2 outfit 2-2.

With three major tournaments on the horizon — Nations Cup (June 15 to 21), World Cup (August 15 to 30) and Asian Games (September 19 to October 4) — chief coach Sjoerd Marijne believes the team is on the right path, though he did flag some concerns in the finishing department. “There are always worrying signs and areas to improve. Our finishing was not good enough on the Argentina tour. That happened because we only entered the circle an average of 10-12 times in the game,” Marijne said during a virtual press conference on Friday.

However, there were plenty of positives. “On the mental side of things, we did really well and coped with the level [of pressure] they put us under. Our team has gained experience now and knows they can beat a World No. 2 side. That gives us a lot of confidence. The most important thing that I told my team was, ‘this is the benchmark, girls.’ If we want to be a top team like them, we have to be sprinting throughout the match. On the fitness side, I was happy with the improvement. The girls had the fitness, but they didn’t always know how to use it. But now they know exactly what to do when they have the ball, and when they don’t,” said Marijne, 52, who returned to coach the team for his second tenure in January.

Marijne reiterated that the team’s ultimate goal in 2026 is winning the Asian Games gold medal (for direct qualification to the LA 2028 Olympics), while the other tournaments, including the World Cup, will serve as a barometer to measure the team’s progress en route to achieving their target. “The Asian Games [in Japan] is the most important, but it doesn’t mean we don’t want to do well in the other tournaments. We will be using the other events to see if we have improved enough,” said Marijne, who previously masterminded India’s second-place finishes at the 2018 Asian Games and 2018 Asian Champions Trophy.