India pacer Mayank Yadav gave the visitors a dream start by striking off the very first ball of the opening T20I of the three-match series against Zimbabwe at the Harare Sports Club in Harare on Thursday, July 23. India captain Shreyas Iyer won his eighth consecutive toss and elected to bowl first.
Mayank bowled a 149 km/h back-of-a-length delivery around the off stump on the opening ball of the match. Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett was caught in the crease and prodded at it, only to edge the ball through to wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan. Although the on-field umpire turned down the appeal, India opted for a review, with UltraEdge confirming a spike to hand the visitors an early breakthrough.
With the 24-year-old striking off the very first delivery of the match, here’s a look at three Indian players to take a wicket off the opening ball of a T20I.
#1 Arshdeep Singh vs USA (2024)
Arshdeep Singh was the first Indian to take a wicket off the opening ball of a T20I. The left-arm pacer achieved the feat during India’s 2024 T20 World Cup clash against the United States of America (USA) at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on June 12.
After India opted to bowl first, Arshdeep opened the attack and struck with the very first delivery. He bowled a length ball around off that swung back in and trapped USA opener Shayan Jahangir in front of the stumps. Arshdeep went on to produce a superb spell, returning figures of 4/9 in his four overs as the hosts finished on 110/8.
In reply, India chased down the target with seven wickets in hand, reaching 111 in 18.2 overs. Suryakumar Yadav top-scored with an unbeaten 50 off 49 balls.
#2 Hardik Pandya vs Pakistan (2025)
In the Group A game between India and Pakistan in the 2025 Asia Cup, played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on September 14, Hardik Pandya took a wicket off the first ball to dismiss Saim Ayub. The all-rounder bowled a length delivery, and the southpaw square-drove it straight to the fielder at point.
It remained Hardik’s only wicket of the match as the Men in Green posted 127/9 in their 20 overs. In reply, India chased down the target of 128 with seven wickets in hand and 25 balls to spare, with skipper Suryakumar Yadav top-scoring with an unbeaten 47 off 37 balls.
#3 Mayank Yadav vs Zimbabwe (2026)
The latest entrant on the list is Delhi-born pacer Mayank Yadav. The speedster dismissed Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett with the very first ball of the series opener on July 23. With this, he became only the third Indian to take a wicket off the first ball of a T20I.
Mayank went on to deliver an impressive spell, returning figures of 2/18 in his four overs. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe finished on 125/7 in their allotted 20 overs. At the time of writing, India’s innings was yet to begin.
Edited by Dev Sharma
