Mullanpur, March 31 Cooper Connolly smashed an unbeaten fifty as Punjab Kings defeated Gujarat Titans by three wickets in their opening Indian Premier League match here on Tuesday.
A disciplined bowling effort helped PBKS restrict former champions GT to 162 for six, with Vijaykumar Vyshak (3/34), Yuzvendra Chahal (2/28) and Marco Jansen (1/20) taking the wickets after PBKS opted to bowl.
For GT, captain Shubman Gill (39), Jos Buttler (38), Glenn Phillips (25) and Washington Sundar (18) scored the bulk of the runs.
In reply, PBKS reached the target in 19.1 overs with Connolly (72 not out off 44 balls) emerging as the highest scorer.
Prasidh Krishna (3/29), Rashid Khan (1/29) and Washington Sundar (1/27) were among the wickets for GT.
Brief Scores:
Gujarat Titans: 162 for 6 in 20 overs (Shubman Gill 39; Vijaykumar Vyshak 3/34, Yuzvendra Chahal 2/28).
Punjab Kings: 165 for 7 in 19.1 overs (Cooper Connolly 72; Prasidh Krishna 3/29).