Mohammed Shami is leading the Lucknow Super Giants bowling attack in their first match of IPL 2026. In the match taking place at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday (April 1) against Delhi Capitals,
Shami helped LSG make a flying start by taking a wicket on the first ball of the first over of DC’s innings. On the first ball of the 142-run chase, Shami accounted for the dismissal of Delhi Capitals opener KL Rahul. In an attempt to play an aerial shot of Shami’s bowling, Rahul, who has more than 5000 runs to his name in the world’s richest franchise cricket league, was caught for a golden duck by Mohsin Khan in the third-man region.
The wicket of Rahul on the first ball of the second half of the LSG-DC match at Ekana Stadium helped Shami enter his name in the history books. The 35-year-old fast bowler is the first bowler in the history of the Indian Premier League to take a wicket on the first ball of an innings five times.
A total of 7 bowlers have picked up a wicket on the first ball three times in the IPL, but Shami is the only one to achieve this feat five times.
Most first ball wicket in IPL
- 5 – Mohammed Shami
- 3 – Pravin Kumar
- 3 – Umesh Yadav
- 3 – Trent Boult
- 3 – Lasith Malinga
- 3 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar
- 3 – Ashok Dinda
- 3 – Pat Cummins
LSG is Shami’s sixth team in the IPL. He has previously played for Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, Punjab Kings, Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
LSG signed Shami in a trade deal with SRH ahead of the IPL 2026 auction despite him managing to take only six wickets in nine IPL matches for the Orange Army last season.
In IPL 2025, Shami was even dropped from SRH’s playing XI for leaking too many runs. He finished last year’s edition of the world’s richest franchise cricket league with an economy of 11.23 and also broke the unwanted record of conceding the most runs in an IPL match by an Indian bowler.
