Cooper Connolly’s meteoric rise took a historic turn on Wednesday as Punjab Kings’ Australian prodigy produced the youngest overseas IPL century ever—an unbeaten 107 off 59 balls—during PBKS’ chase against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The knock, struck at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, rewrote the record books despite ending in defeat for the chasing side, with SRH prevailing by 33 runs and moving to the summit of the IPL 2026 points table.
Record-breaking innings and the chase
- Punjab Kings entered their run chase of 236 with early wickets falling under pressure from Sunrisers Hyderabad’s tight bowling.
- Priyansh Arya was dismissed for 1 in the opening over, followed quickly by Nitish Kumar Reddy removing Prabhsimran Singh cheaply.
- PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer then departed for 5 after being bowled out by Eshan Malinga, leaving the visitors reeling at 23/3 within four overs.
- Connolly steadied the innings with a fearless counterpunch, even as the asking rate stayed high throughout much of the chase.
- He received brief but meaningful support from Marcus Stoinis, who made 28 off 14, and Suryansh Shedge, who contributed 25 off 17, while Marco Jansen added 19.
- Connolly completed his maiden IPL century in 57 balls and carried on to finish unbeaten on 107, striking seven fours and eight sixes as PBKS finished at 202/7.
The innings turned Connolly, aged 22 years and 257 days, into the youngest overseas batter to reach the 100-run mark in IPL history, eclipsing Quinton de Kock’s decade-old benchmark. The feat also placed him among only a select group of PBKS batters to score a century at the age of 22 in the league.
Youngest overseas batter to score a century in IPL: Connolly (22y 257d) vs SRH, Hyderabad, 2026; Quinton de Kock (23y 122d) vs RCB, Bengaluru, 2016; David Warner (23y 153d) vs KKR, Delhi, 2010; David Miller (23y 330d) vs RCB, Mohali, 2013; Cameron Green (23y 352d) vs SRH, Wankhede, 2023.
PBKS centuries at age 22 in IPL: Prabhsimran Singh (103 vs DC, Delhi, 2023) and Connolly (107 vs SRH, Hyderabad, 2026).
Connolly’s power-hitting also stood out: his eight sixes were the most by any PBKS batter aged 22 in a single IPL innings, bettering his own earlier season mark of seven maximums against Lucknow Super Giants.
Result and table impact
Sunrisers Hyderabad’s win ensured they climbed to the top of the IPL 2026 standings, collecting 14 points from 11 matches. For Punjab Kings, the defeat marked their third consecutive loss, dropping them to second place as SRH secured a 33-run victory despite Connolly’s historic unbeaten century.
