On April 13 (Monday), in the clash between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR), Jofra Archer claimed a wicket on the very first ball of the innings. It is for the second consecutive match in IPL 2026 that he has done this. Against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), he dismissed Phil Salt with a sharp bouncer. Now, in the clash against SRH at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Archer once again dismissed a batsman, Abhishek Sharma, off the first ball of the match.
Abhishek’s aggression proves costly
Abhishek attempted to launch the attack on the very first ball of the match. He stepped out to play a shot, but the short-pitched delivery failed to connect cleanly with his bat. Ravi Bishnoi took an easy catch at third man. This marks the seventh time this year that Abhishek has been dismissed for a duck in T20 cricket. Since January, Abhishek has played 18 matches. During the T20 World Cup, Abhishek failed to open his account in three consecutive matches.
Abhishek is only the second SRH batsman to be dismissed on the first ball of an IPL match. Prior to this, Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed on the first ball of a match against CSK in 2018.
Breaks unwanted record of Rohit and Sanju
Abhishek has also set a new record for the most dismissals for a duck by a batter in T20 cricket within a single calendar year. Rohit Sharma (2018) and Sanju Samson (2024) were each dismissed for a duck six times. It is currently only the beginning of April, yet Abhishek has already been dismissed for a duck seven times. Of these instances, five occurred in T20 Internationals (T20I).
Indian Batsmen with the Most Ducks in a Calendar Year in T20s
Abhishek Sharma (7 times), 2026 (18 innings)
Rohit Sharma (6 times), 2018 (32 innings)
Sanju Samson (6 times), 2024 (32 innings)
Gurkeerat Singh Mann (5 times), 2013 (19 innings)
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