Hyderabad moves atop IPL with 33-run win over Punjab as Connolly's century goes in vain

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Sunrisers Hyderabad recorded their eighth 200-plus score of the season to beat Punjab Kings by 33 runs and replace them atop the Indian Premier League on Wednesday.

Cooper Connolly struck his maiden T20 century but the Australian all-rounder’s unbeaten 107 off 59 balls went in vain for Punjab, which finished at 202-7 and lost their third straight game.

Leading run-getter Heinrich Klaasen (69) and Ishan Kishan (55) had earlier capitalized on sloppy Punjab fielding and led Hyderabad to 235-4 as both batters notched aggressive half-centuries after getting early reprieves.

“Punjab are a really good side," Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins said. “No matter what the score is, bowling second against that side was clinical. We’re pretty good at playing it at our pace, it’s just trying to max out.”

Punjab had a terrific start to the season when it stayed unbeaten in the first seven games that included a successful run chase of 265 against Delhi Capitals.

But Hyderabad ensured its record of not losing an IPL game after scoring 220-plus stayed intact as Punjab got derailed inside the first four overs when they slipped to 23-3 and Connolly, who hit eight sixes and seven fours, got little support from the other end in a steep chase.

Cummins (2-34) stifled the chase early when he first had Priyansh Arya caught at deep mid-wicket in the first over and then took smart catches of Prabhsimran Singh and skipper Shreyas Iyer.

After losing top-order batters quickly, Connolly raised his half-century off 34 balls and Marcus Stoinis showed some brief spark with a knock of 28 off 14 balls before spinner Shivang Kumar (2-45) found the thick outside edge of his bat soon after the power play.

Hyderabad was also sloppy in the field when Connolly got dropped twice after his half-century before he raised his hundred in the final over and ensured Punjab played out the full 20 overs by sharing a 68-run seventh wicket stand with Jansen (19).

Earlier, Hyderabad’s aggressive opening pair of Abhishek Sharma (35 off 13 balls) and Travis Head (38 off 19 balls) provided a rollicking start of 54 off 21 balls with Sharma smashing four sixes and two boundaries and Head hitting three sixes and three boundaries.

Both batters came down hard on left-arm fast bowler Marco Jansen (0-61), who conceded five sixes and four boundaries in his two expensive spells as first Sharma and Head smashed big hits and then Klaasen clobbered two sixes against his fellow-South African in the death overs.

Punjab’s scratchy fielding allowed Klaasen and Kishan to share an attacking 88-run stand off 48 balls as both batters were dropped before reaching the double figures.

Kishan got dismissed in the 15th over when he holed out at deep mid-wicket, but Nitish Kumar Reddy’s breezy 29 off 13 balls and Klaasen’s clean striking in the death overs lifted the home team’s total.

“It was a bit too much because we dropped catches at the start,” Iyer said. “We got a fairytale start in the tournament, and everyone was in a great space, (but) if we are going to continue with the same form, that’s not going to help us.”

Hyderabad’s seventh win in 11 games moved them into first place on 14 points, one more than Punjab, which got bumped out of the top spot.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Nitish Kumar Reddy celebrates the wicket of Punjab Kings' Prabhsimran Singh with teammates during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Heinrich Klaasen and Ishan Kishan after scoring runs during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Ishan Kishan plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Punjab Kings' Cooper Connolly plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Sunrisers Hyderabad's Heinrich Klaasen plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Punjab Kings in Hyderabad, India, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelans searched for survivors beneath collapsed buildings Thursday and rescue teams raced to northern areas rocked by a pair of powerful earthquakes that officials say killed at least 188 people and left more than 200 trapped.

More were feared dead from the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday evening — among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and felt throughout the region. Some 1,500 people were injured, thousands were reported missing and buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil’s Amazon.

In response to the devastation, the U.S. Treasury on Thursday moved to waive some sanctions until Oct. 23 to allow transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela that would otherwise be prohibited.

Meanwhile, in cities across northern Venezuela, panicked residents poured into the streets and searched for the missing in the debris. Injured children, animals and civilians covered in dust and blood were pulled out of concrete rubble.

One mother sobbed and collapsed in grief as the bodies of her 3- and 10-year-old children were wrapped in blankets and carried away. Others screamed the names of missing loved ones. Some stood in silent shock.

The coastal region of La Guaira — north of the capital, Caracas — suffered some of the heaviest damage and casualties, and it’s there that the country’s main airport was damaged and closed, complicating aid efforts.

Retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendaño climbed through wreckage in La Guaira and past a dead body when he spotted a woman who was trapped and signaling with her hand for help.

“May God rescue her as quickly as possible,” said Mendaño. “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.”

Offers to send aid and supplied poured in from around the world, including from the United States, which seized Venezuela's then-president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of the year in a surprise military operation.

The natural disaster is just the latest challenge for acting President Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after Maduro's capture. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Rodriguez represents.

Venezuelan authorities said they were diverting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which is no stranger to natural disasters; a 1999 mudslide there, considered one of the country’s worst natural disasters, killed thousands.

Rodríguez appealed to businesses Thursday to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations, while a United Nations spokesperson said search and rescue teams were just hours away.

“We're here for the families, and we extend our solidarity to them. We hope to rescue as many living people as possible,” said Rodríguez, who referred to La Guaira as a “disaster zone.”

Jorge Rodriguez, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly and brother of the acting president, gave updated figures for the numbers of dead, trapped and injured.

While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas. It had a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles). Just a minute later, USGS reported a second 7.5 magnitude earthquake, with a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) and an epicenter 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Moron.

The one-two punch of the quakes, combined with the shallow seismic movements, amplified the destruction, said Marcos Ferreira, a geophysicist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil.

“It is as if I am screaming and then someone starts screaming, too. That amplifies the vibration and adds to the potential hazard,” Ferreira said.

During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings. Many were stunned Thursday morning as they saw buildings reduced to skeletons, furniture hanging out of windows and helicopters circling overhead.

In La Guaira, Cristian Carreño stared at his charred apartment building tilting precariously to one side.

“I lost everything,” he said. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.”

Dayana Delgado, mother of three children, said she was desperate because her 8-year-old son was missing. Delgado asked where the heavy machinery was that government officials had promised, pointing out that neighbors were the ones digging through the rubble.

“I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said.

Authorities warned people against returning to homes with structural damage. In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.

“We were afraid the buildings would collapse on us,” said María Cristina Díaz, a 41-year-old janitor. “My mother, my daughter and I were cold. We didn’t sleep a wink.”

Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone service, Rodríguez said. Subway services were suspended and natural gas was shut off, she said. Classes will also be canceled for several days, and the Ministry of Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centers.

Families began posting missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for those still unaccounted for. Venezuelans living abroad struggled to make contact with relatives.

Shortly after U.N. officials in Venezuela called on the government to lift social media restrictions so people can get potentially life-saving information, Venezuelans in the country were able to access X. The site had been blocked by Maduro since August 2024, in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential election.

Rodríguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes.

Leaders from Mexico, Qatar, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Canada and more expressed solidarity with and vowed to send aid to Venezuela. A number of shipments were already on the way Thursday. Aid included emergency and military personnel, canine and search teams, medical supplies, water purifiers, airplanes and drones.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke to Rodríguez following the quake, said the United States was “immediately” deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources other assistance, though he acknowledged the closure of Venezuela's main airport created logistical challenges.

“We have a whole-of-government response. It’ll be big; it’ll be fast; and it’ll be effective,” Rubio said.

Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalists Regina Garcia Cano, Mauricio Savarese, Anna-Catherine Brigida, Danica Coto, Clara Preve, and Alexandra Olson contributed to this report.

A resident stands in a damaged building a day after an earthquake struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Campos)

A man walks over the fallen walls of his home in Moron, near the epicenter of two earthquakes that struck Venezuela the day before, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Jacinto Oliveros)

Buildings damaged by an earthquake stand in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

Neighbors carry a man rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building the day after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

An injured woman walks in La Guaira, Venezuela, a day after an earthquake struck the area, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

Damaged buildings stand a day after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Pablo Arraez)

Neighbors helps a man evacuate his damaged home after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026.(AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

A vehicle is trapped in a fissure caused by an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP PhotoJavier Campos)

Residents walk among the rubble of building damaged in earthquakes the previous day in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

Patients lie outside a hospital evacuated after it was damaged in an earthquake in Catia La Mar, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

People camp on a sports court following an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026 (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

Rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Rescue workers search through the rubble after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Campos)

People stay outside their homes after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

People sleep outside their homes following an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, June 25, 2026 (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

A boy comforts his mother after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Pedro Mattey)

A man holding a dog cries after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Javier Campos)

Rescue workers search through the rubble after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026.(AP Photo/Javier Campos)

Rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed building after earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)

Rescue worker carry an injured man after an earthquake in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, June 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)