Why Cooper Connolly's SRH hundred meant more than just runs: PBKS spin coach explains
Cooper Connolly's fighting century against Sunrisers Hyderabad drew strong praise from PBKS spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule. The innings underlined Punjab's faith in their No. 3 and strengthened the view that he can go a long way for Australia.
Cooper Connolly came into the IPL without a lot of hype around him apart from his exploits in the Big Bash League. However, just like his idol Shaun Marsh did for the franchise during his time in the competition, Connolly has quickly established himself as a run-machine for Punjab.
Bought for Rs. 3 Cr, Connolly has filled up the void left by Josh Inglis at No.3 and has scored 377 runs in 10 matches at a strike-rate of 171.36 and an average of 53.86. His latest outing saw him score a fighting 107 for PBKS in their loss to SRH.
SRH vs PBKS: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD
Speaking at the press conference after the game, the PBKS spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said that Connolly has a good head on his shoulders and tipped him for success with the Australian team.
"He is somebody who's very positive and he's a great potential," Bahutule said in the press conference. "Definitely he'll play a long period for Australia. He's a very good allrounder in the making, fabulous fielder. And he's got a good head on his shoulders."
WHY WAS CONNOLLY'S KNOCK SPECIAL?
While Connolly doesn't get mentioned alongside the likes of Priyansh Arya, Prabhsimran Singh and PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer for their destructive batting, the southpaw played one of the best knocks of his career on Wednesday, May 6.
But at the Uppal, Priyansh, Prabhsimran and Iyer contributed just 9 runs from 12 balls in the chase, Connolly fought till the very end. This ensured that the margin of the loss was less in the end and it didn't take a big toll on PBKS' net run-rate.
Bahutule was happy to see how well Connolly has adapted to Indian conditions and playing in the IPL.
"He's a team man," Bahutule said. "For today's conditions, we knew at some stage [that] it was a losing cause, but he just made sure that the momentum is on and see how we can get closer to the total. Because obviously things like these also help us in our net run-rate. That's what he did beautifully. I think he's learning, you know, being in India, playing in the conditions and the way he has adapted as an overseas player has been fabulous to see at that age [22] to come and to really play in different venues, different pitches and perform so well."
PBKS will next be in action against DC on Monday, May 11.
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