What does “first-ball wicket” mean in IPL?

The first-ball wicket refers to a bowler taking a wicket with the very first legal delivery they bowl in their IPL career. It’s a massive feat for the bowlers to settle themselves in the competition.

How rare is taking a wicket on the first ball in IPL?

It’s extremely rare that across the 19 seasons of the IPL, only 11 bowlers have been able to take a wicket on the first ball of their IPL career.

Does the first-ball wicket always come in a player’s debut match?

It happens on a bowler’s first ball in the IPL career, which could come in their debut match or even later if they didn’t bowl earlier in that debut IPL clash.

Which bowlers are known for frequent first-ball wickets in IPL matches?

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jofra Archer, Trent Boult, and Mohammed Shami are famous for taking wickets on the first ball of the innings multiple times, which shows their incredible ability to strike instantly.

IPL bowlers who took a wicket with their first ball, Ranked

In the fiercely competitive tournament that is the Indian Premier League (IPL), making an impact from the first delivery is the ultimate statement a player can make. For the bowlers, it’s about setting the template for the rest of the group in the field. Over the years, a rare group of bowlers has achieved the remarkable feat by taking the wicket on the very first delivery of the IPL.

It has been a moment of combined skill, precision, and the touch of luck to shift the momentum and put the batters under pressure. The contest brings the specialty as the IPL is known for the explosive batting, flat pitches, and the high-scoring encounters, where the bowlers striking with the first ball not only disrupt the opposition’s plans but electrify the crowd.

It sets the tone for the rest of the match. Many bowlers, in the combination of the internationals or the uncapped youngsters, have etched their names in the IPL record book with their achievements. Whether it’s about the inswing deliveries to trap the batters leg before the wicket, or a slower ball to induce the mistimed shot along with the sheer pace to put the batters off guard.

The moments became a defining factor in the player’s career as they are remembered after the match gets over. This feat isn’t limited to one type of bowler. The fast bowlers, with their swing and seam movement, and the spinners have managed to strike on their very first delivery.

Every IPL bowler who took a wicket with his first ball, ever — The complete list

With the wicket on the very first delivery of the IPL career, the bowlers have proved that unpredictability is the key element of T20 cricket. As the competition continues to evolve with the new talent in every season, the list of the bowlers for the rare milestone keeps growing-

#1 Ishant Sharma (IPL 2008)-

Ishant Sharma’s famous first-ball wicket of Rahul Dravid came in the very first edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008, when he was playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). It was a good-length delivery outside the off stump, moving slightly as Dravid tried to push it with minimal foot movement.

The ball grabbed the outside edge, and he was caught behind. This made the lanky pacer the first player in IPL history to take a wicket with his very first delivery. It wasn’t a magical yorker or bouncer, but the disciplined length delivery pushed the veteran to make the mistake.

The 37-year-old has 96 wickets in 117 innings of his IPL career at an economy rate of 8.37 with an average of 35.17.

#2 Wilkin Mota (IPL 2008)-

This moment also took place in the very first season of the IPL, just after the famous moment of Ishant Sharma. Playing for the Kings XI Punjab (now named Punjab Kings), Wilkin Mota sent back Suresh Raina during their clash against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). Raina has been one of the dangerous and consistent members of the franchise, as his dismissal was typically via a mistimed shot leading to a catch.

This made Mota only the second bowler in IPL history to take a wicket on his very first ball. He didn’t have a long IPL career, but this moment made him part of the rare record. Even Raina’s wicket was his only success in this 2008 season, followed by his three wickets in 2009 for the Punjab franchise.

#3 Shane Harwood (IPL 2009)-

This incident took place in the 2009 season of the league when the Australian Shane Harwood was playing for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) against Deccan Chargers (DC). It was his very first ball in the IPL as the right-arm pacer bowled a short-of-length delivery angling in.

Azhar Bilakhia, the batter, tried to play an instinctive pull shot as the ball took a top edge and was caught safely by Siddarth Trivedi inside the circle. It was a crucial moment with the DC side being set. Harwood played just three clashes of the IPL and earned three wickets at an economy rate of 7.30.

#4 Amit Singh (IPL 2009)-

It was another moment from the IPL 2009 when a bowler picked up a wicket on the very first ball of his career. In this instance, Amit Singh was playing for the Rajasthan Royals. He went with a short-of-a-length delivery that climbed awkwardly to Sunny Sohal, who tried to defend the ball.

The ball took the outside edge of his blade and flew to the slips, where the RR captain, Shane Warne, completed the catch. It happened right at the start of the innings, which put the KXIP under immediate pressure. Amit played 23 IPL clashes in his career and collected 28 wickets at an economy rate of below eight at an average of 22.14.

#5 Charl Langeveldt (IPL 2009)-

Charl Langeveldt was representing the Kolkata franchise in the IPL 2009. For his first ball in IPL cricket, he delivered a tight line just outside the off-stump, testing the batter. Rob Quiney went for a very tentative push early in his innings as the ball took the outside edge and was caught safely in the cordon behind the wicket-keeper.

Quiney was opening the batting, which also made it the first-ball wicket of the match as well. South Africa’s Langeveldt, who was renowned for his accuracy, bagged 13 wickets in seven innings of the IPL at an average of 14.38 and an economy rate of 7.19.

#6 Ali Murtaza (IPL 2010)-

The moment came in the IPL 2010 when the Mumbai Indians (MI) handed a debut cap to Ali Murtaza, who picked up a wicket on his very first ball of the IPL career. He bowled a left-arm orthodox delivery on the good length, which invited the batter to play.

The wicket-keeper batter, Naman Ojha, looked to push and drive the ball forward, but it induced a mistake and resulted in a catch. Getting the wicket of the aggressive batter, Murtaza gave a strong start to the Mumbai side. It showed how the spinners’ flight, subtle turn, and pressure can create instant breakthroughs for the franchise.

Murtaza’s IPL career ended after 12 innings in which he collected nine wickets at an economy rate of 7.11 with an average of 34.77.

#7 Taduri Prakash Sudhindra (IPL 2012)-

It happened in IPL 2012 when Taduri Sudhindra, playing for the Deccan Chargers, picked up a wicket on his very first ball of the IPL. He bowled a leg-spin delivery on a teasing length to CSK’s Faf du Plessis, who looked to play him early in the innings. The ball induced a mistake and resulted in the wicket on the very first ball.

Just like Murtaza, Sudhinadra’s first-ball wicket as a spinner made it even more special. It showed how variation and deception in spin can work instantly in the shortest format. Shocking to believe, but that remained the only wicket of his IPL career.

#8 Alzarri Joseph (IPL 2019)-

Coming as a replacement player during the 2019 season of the IPL, Alzarri Joseph created history on several occasions in his very first game of the IPL against the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. With the back-of-a-length delivery angling across the southpaw, he collected the wicket of David Warner, who went for an aggressive cut early in the innings.

The ball took the outside edge and flew to the wicket-keeper. The West Indies pacer produced the historic figures of 6/12, the best bowling figures in IPL history. It turned out to be the greatest debut performance in the shortest format.

#9 Matheesha Pathirana (IPL 2022)-

This happened very recently during the 2022 season of the IPL for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) against the Gujarat Titans (GT). Matheesha Pathirana, whose action has been a challenge for the batters to pick, sent back Shubman Gill. The batter was late on the flick and unable to bring the bat down in time.

It was a superb ball from Pathirana to beat Gill with pace, despite the latter being a strong top-order batter. He has featured in 33 innings of the IPL so far and has bagged 47 wickets at an average of 21.80 and an economy rate of below nine, with the best bowling figures of 4/28 in an innings.

#10 Ashwani Kumar (IPL 2025)-

In 2025, for the Mumbai side, Ashwani Kumar made his debut against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium. On the very first ball of his career, he picked up the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane. He bowled a full delivery outside the off stump with some pace as Rahane went for an attacking drive early in the innings. The miscued shot was caught at the deep backward point region.

Ashwani, who went on to take four wickets on debut, has collected overall 17 wickets in 10 innings at an average of under 20 and an expensive economy rate of around 11, with the best bowling figures of 4/24 in an innings.

#11 Gurjapneet Singh (IPL 2026)-

In the recently finished IPL 2026, playing for the Super Kings, Gurjapneet Singh dismissed Axar Patel on his very first ball of the league’s history. He bowled a tight left-arm seam delivery on the good length as the southpaw looked to play it early in the innings. Sarfaraz Khan grabbed a superb one-handed catch to help the seamer get the reward.

The India pacer ended the IPL 2026 campaign with four wickets in eight innings at an average of 58.25 and an economy rate of 9.25 with the best bowling figures of 1/7 in an innings.