Gujarat Titans walked into IPL 2026 Match 4 at Mullanpur with high hopes. They had a talent-heavy lineup led by Shubman Gill and featured Prasidh Krishna, who dominated 2025 with 25 wickets. After Punjab Kings won the toss and chose to bowl, Gujarat scratched their way to 162 for 6. While that score looked okay on paper, it ended up being too low against a Punjab side led by debutant Cooper Connolly.
Prasidh came on as an impact sub during the chase and put on the exact kind of performance that usually wins games. He made an immediate impact in the 13th over by getting rid of Shreyas Iyer with his first ball, a half-volley that Iyer mistimed straight to Washington Sundar at deep backward square leg.
Two overs later, the tall pacer used his height to get extra bounce, forcing an edge from Shashank Singh to the keeper. He then sent Marcus Stoinis back for a duck after the Australian tried an upper-cut but picked out Rashid Khan at deep third man.
His final stats were three wickets across four overs with an economy of 7.25. These were aggressive, game-changing numbers for a low-scoring chase. By the end of the 15th over, Punjab were reeling at 121 for 6, having taken only three runs off Prasidh’s big over as the momentum shifted toward Gujarat.
However, the GT batters had already let the team down long before Prasidh even picked up the ball. On a pitch where the average first-innings total was closer to 191, GT’s 162 meant Punjab only needed to avoid big mistakes to win. Yuzvendra Chahal dried up the runs in the middle, and Vijaykumar Vyshak took 3 for 34 as GT’s bowlers tore through the lineup, but Cooper Connolly wouldn't break.
Punjab needed just two runs off the last over, and Connolly didn't waste any time. He drove Washington Sundar through the covers for four on the very first ball to wrap up a three-wicket victory. Connolly stayed not out with a brilliant debut knock; the kind of steady, cool-headed innings that makes a middle-order collapse stay in the past.
Prasidh Krishna did his job perfectly. He hit his lengths, found bounce, and took out three key players to nearly save GT single-handedly. But the batters left him with no room for error. In T20, those small gaps matter. One great spell can't make up for being 30 runs short, and GT learned that the hard way on a cold Tuesday night in Mullanpur.
