World No. 1 T20I batter Abhishek Sharma opened the innings for India in the ongoing fourth T20I match against New Zealand at ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam but failed to open his account even.
He was sent back to the pavilion for a golden duck by Matt Henry on the first ball of India’s innings in the 216-run chase. In an attempt to hit six on the first ball of the innings, Abhishek was caught by Devon Conway.
The wicket of Abhishek helped Henry create a unique bowling record. The fast bowler from New Zealand became the first bowler in the world to dismiss an opposition batter off the first ball of an innings twice in a bilateral T20I series.
Before getting rid of Abhishek on Wednesday, Henry removed Sanju Samson on the first ball of India’s innings in the third T20I played on January 25 in Guwahati.
Abdul Naser Baluch of Sweden also dismissed an opposition batter off the first ball of an innings twice in a series, but he achieved the feat against two teams. In the 2023 edition of the Nordic Twenty20 Cup, Naser Baluch bowled Norway batter Raza Iqbal on the first ball of the second innings in Glostrup on May 19, and then on May 21 at the same venue against Finland, he bowled Finland opener Peter Gallagher as well on the first ball of the run chase.
