27-year-old left-arm fast bowler Gurjapneet Singh is playing his first ever Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Saturday, April 11. The Tamil Nadu-based cricketer replaced Matt Henry in Chennai Super Kings’ playing XI for the IPL 2026 match against Delhi Capitals at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, and he made a memorable start to his IPL career by taking a wicket on the first ball of his first over. In an attempt to play a cut shot of Gurjapneet’s bowling, Axar was caught by Sarfaraz Khan.
The Delhi Capitals skipper could only manage to score 1 run from 2 balls, and his dismissal helped Gurjapneet join an elite list of bowlers.
A total of 11 bowlers have managed to take wicket on the first ball of their first-ever IPL match.
Worthy of watching
on loooop! ➰
🎥 Sarfaraz Khan with a ???????????????????????????? of a grab 🫴
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Ishant Sharma was the first player to take a wicket on the first ball of his first-ever IPL match. He achieved the feat for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2008 match against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru by taking Rahul Dravid’s wicket at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on April 18, 2008.
Wicket on the first ball on IPL debut
| BOWLER | TEAM | DISMISSED BATTER | AGAINST | VENUE | DATE |
| Ishant Sharma | Kolkata Knight Riders | Rahul Dravid | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Bengaluru | April 18, 2008 |
| Wilkin Mota* | Punjab Kings | Suresh Raina | Chennai Super Kings | Mohali | April 19, 2008 |
| Shane Harwood | Rajasthan Royals | Azhar Bilakhia | Deccan Chargers | Port Elizabeth | May 2, 2009 |
| Amit Singh | Rajasthan Royals | Sunny Sohal | Punjab Kings | Durban | May 5, 2009 |
| Charl Langeveldt | Kolkata Knight Riders | Rob Quiney | Rajasthan Royals | Durban | May 20, 2009 |
| Ali Murtaza | Mumbai Indians | Naman Ojha | Rajasthan Royals | Mumbai (BS) | March 13, 2010 |
| TP Sudhindra | Deccan Chargers | Faf du Plessis | Chennai Super Kings | Visakhapatnam | April 7, 2012 |
| Alzarri Joseph | Mumbai Indians | David Warner | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Hyderabad | April 6, 2019 |
| Matheesha Pathirana | Chennai Super Kings | Shubman Gill | Gujarat Titans | Mumbai (WS) | May 15, 2022 |
| Ashwani Kumar | Mumbai Indians | Ajinkya Rahane | Kolkata Knight Riders | Mumbai (WS) | March 31, 2025 |
| Gurjapneet Singh | Chennai Super Kings | Axar Patel | Delhi Capitals | Chennai | April 11, 2026 |
Before Gurjapneet, only one bowler had managed to take a wicket on the first ball of his first-ever IPL match, and that feat was achieved by Matheesha Pathirana on May 15, 2022, against Gujarat Titans at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
