Former Indian spinner Murali Kartik showered praise on Cooper Connolly after Punjab Kings suffered a 33-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, on Wednesday. Kartik said the Australian batter has been a really good addition to the PBKS team after he was bought for INR 3 crore in the IPL mini auction.

The left-hander scored a fine knock of 107 runs off just 57 balls with the help of seven fours and eight sixes as he scored his runs at a strike rate of 181.36. But, eventually, his efforts went in vain as he didn’t get support from the other end.

Connolly is the highest run getter for PBKS this season, scoring 377 runs in nine innings at an average of 53.86 and a strike rate of 171.36.

“He is a really good addition to this team; he had started the tournament well, did not get runs in the middle for a while. I think if anyone had supported him, then there might have been a ray of hope for PBKS. Even in this dire state, they managed to cross 200,” Murali Kartik said of Cooper Connolly on Cricbuzz.

“The form that Shreyas is batting in, you feel that there is a chance when he is at the crease. But when you lose three wickets so quickly, then the task becomes quite difficult. If they were chasing 190-200, then you could maybe say that they had a chance even after losing early wickets,” he added.

Kartik reckons there hasn’t been a standout bowler for PBKS, who has taken a lot of wickets this season.

“If you look at their bowling, till now there is no standout bowler who has taken a lot of wickets. The wickets have been shared among them. But if you start conceding runs like this and the batters are unable to make up for it, then that matters a lot,” Murali Kartik said.

Punjab Kings will next take on Delhi Capitals at Dharamsala on Monday.