 "Prasidh Krishna turned the game on its head at one stage for GT when it looked like PBKS would win easily. Image: AFP")
Punjab Kings (PBKS) started their (Indian Premier League) IPL 2026 campaign with a thrilling win over the Gujarat Titans (GT) by three wickets in New Chandigarh on Tuesday. After the match, GT captain Shubman Gill faced criticism from former India cricketers Anil Kumble and Saba Karim for a key tactical mistake during the chase.
Batting first, Gujarat Titans managed only 162/6 in 20 overs, which looked slightly below par on the surface. Gill scored 39 runs, while Jos Buttler made 38 and Glenn Phillips added 25 to help the team reach a competitive total. For Punjab, Vijaykumar Vyshak picked up three wickets and Yuzvendra Chahal took two.
During the chase , Punjab lost an early wicket but recovered well through a good partnership between Prabhsimran Singh and debutant Cooper Connolly. Connolly played a brilliant knock of 72 not out off 44 balls, which turned out to be the match-winning innings.
Although Prasidh Krishna had almost taken the game away from the home team after he picked up key wickets in the middle overs. When Punjab were cruising in the chase, Prasidh came and removed their captain Shreyas Iyer . He returned to dismiss Shashank Singh and Marcus Stoinis in the same over, bringing GT back into the game.
Kumble slams Gill
After the game, former India captain Anil Kumble questioned Gill’s decision to bring Prasidh Krishna into the attack late in the innings. Speaking on JioHotstar, Kumble said he was surprised that the bowler, who has been a key wicket-taker for GT in the past, only started bowling in the 13th over.
“Very surprising that GT sort of thought of Prasidh Krishna, the purple cap holder, to come in in the 13th over. First ball, of course, was a lucky breakthrough. As the previous couple of balls, Shreyas Iyer had got hit on the hand, so maybe lost some concentration. It was a half volley. He wanted to pick it up, but went straight to the square leg fielder. That length has troubled all batters right throughout the day,” Kumble said.
“And plus, he found that very early in his spell, and once he got this wicket, and then the next one of Marcus Stoinis, GT possibly thought that they were in the game, and they could perhaps win the match, but too late, because you never have a bowler bowl his four overs in the last eight overs of the day. And that’s one of the reasons, perhaps, why that last over of Prasidh Krishna went for 14 or 15 runs, when they needed 16 runs and 2 overs to win,” he added.
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Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim also agreed with this view and said Gill made a mistake as captain by not using Prasidh earlier. Karim pointed out that Prasidh has done well in the middle overs in previous seasons as well, and the pitch conditions in this match suited his style of bowling.
“Previously also I think, in the middle over, post the powerplay he has always done well. Even the last edition, we saw that, despite inexplicable, on the part of Shumman Gill, not to bring him on. He’s your main wicket taking bowler, so get him on, especially on a surface like this. Tall bowler, can hit the deck, into the wicket kind of a ball, that is what is required in a surface like this,” Karim said on the same show.
Karim said when a team is defending a small total like 162, it is important to attack early and use the main wicket-taking bowler at the right time. According to him, allowing Punjab Kings to reach 110 for 2 before bringing Prasidh into the attack made things easier for the chasing side. He added that Prasidh showed his ability when he finally came on, but by then the momentum had already shifted.
“And you have seen that, the way the Punjab Kings pace bowlers exploited these conditions. I think that is what was needed. Prasidh Krishna is one such bowler who would have excelled in these conditions, and he did show that, but that was quite late. Why would you allow a team when you’re defending a paltry score of 162, to get to a score of 110 for two, and then try and make a comeback. So I think that was an error on part of Shubman Gill as a captain,” he said.
In the end, Connolly stayed calm under pressure and finished the match for Punjab Kings, handing Gujarat Titans a 3-wicket defeat in their opening game of the IPL 2026 season.