Former India cricketer R Ashwin has analyzed and shared his thoughts on the poor fielding and catching by Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their recent IPL 2026 game against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium on May 6.
During their 33-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Punjab Kings had a terrible fielding performance, losing a critical stumping opportunity and squandering three important catches. The costly mistakes gave SRH's best hitters crucial lifelines, and they forced Punjab to pay a heavy price on their route to a commanding 235/4.
Ishan Kishan, who made 55, was dropped twice, once by Cooper Connolly and once by Lockie Ferguson. Heinrich Klaasen, who smashed 69 runs, was dropped by Shashank Singh. Kishan also survived a stumping chance when PBKS keeper Prabhsimran Singh failed to gather the ball cleanly.
Cooper Connolly smashed his maiden IPL ton, scoring 107*, but PBKS could only make 202/7 and lost the game. They also lost the top spot to SRH in the ongoing IPL 2026 points table.
Ashwin, on his YouTube channel, analyzed the possible reasons for poor fielding and dropped catches by PBKS fielders that cost them the match.
“I’m not making excuses, but something definitely looked off with Punjab Kings’ fielding this time. They dropped far too many catches. Even when Ricky Ponting was being interviewed during the match, he mentioned that poor fielding spreads like a virus through a team,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
Ashwin particularly highlighted the dropped catch by Cooper Connolly and linked it to the nature of the outfield near the boundary ropes.
“One thing I noticed was Cooper Connolly’s dropped catch. Just before that, he had misfielded a boundary as well. From that, you could clearly understand that the ball was bouncing unusually near the boundary line. Even in the previous match at the Hyderabad stadium, the ball was kicking up sharply. This usually happens when the outfield becomes very hard and loses its softness,” he explained.
Furthermore, Ashwin stated that Prabhsimran Singh was not ready for the ball while talking about the missed stumping chance.
“Prabhsimran’s missed stumping happened because I don’t think he was fully prepared for that kind of bounce. When Ishan Kishan stepped out, he expected the ball to come normally onto the gloves, but it suddenly bounced more than expected. He couldn’t judge it in time. Since he isn’t very tall, he has to read that bounce earlier than most keepers,” Ashwin added.
