Former Indian all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin showered praise on Cooper Connolly after the Punjab Kings clinched a three-wicket win against the Gujarat Titans at New Chandigarh on Tuesday. Ashwin also praised head coach Ricky Ponting for backing the Australian players in the playing XI.

While Marcus Stoinis could not do much of notice, Cooper Connolly and Xavier Bartlett delivered for PBKS. Bartlett returned with figures of 0-36 in his quota of four overs, and he took a fine catch to get rid of Jos Buttler. Furthermore, he also scored a little cameo of 5-ball 11.

“I thought before the start of the game that Azmatullah Omarzai should play. Dude, why is Bartlett playing? But the way Bartlett bowled and batted, Ricky Ponting once again proved right by filling all the overseas slots with Australians,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

On the other hand, Cooper Connolly scored a match-winning knock of 72 runs off just 44 balls in the run chase of 163. The southpaw scored five fours and as many sixes.

“This is his first game in the IPL, it is not easy. The guy comes from Australia, has never played cricket in India. It was not a bouncy-type wicket, it was a skiddy wicket, and he adapted and played a very good innings. There was a lot of pressure near the end; even then, he held his nerve and finished the chase well. He is only 22 years old, he performed so well in the BBL, that he opened everyone’s eyes. He will also come to India to play the Test series,” Ashwin said of Connolly.

Meanwhile, Ashwin said he likes these kind of games when a team is chasing 160-170 rather than 220-230.

“I like these games more than the 200-220 games. There was something in the wicket, the bowlers got some help as well. In both innings, we saw the scoring rate decrease after the powerplay, the spinners also came into play. But in the end, PBKS, at the end, they have a lot of power, there is a lot of depth.” Ashwin added.

Punjab Kings will next take on Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Friday.