Record of wicket on the first ball of T20I innings, the only Indian bowler who did this feat thrice

In the match against Zimbabwe, Mayank Yadav gave a great start to India by getting opener Brian Bennett caught by Ishan Kishan on the very first ball. Such a start with the new ball is considered very important for any team and Mayank once again proved how deadly he can prove to be in the initial overs.

This was not the first time that Mayank Yadav had taken a wicket on the first ball of the innings in a T20 international match. Earlier in October 2024, in the match played against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, he had shocked the Bangladeshi team with the very first ball, which was chasing the huge target of 298 runs. In that match he had dismissed Parvez Hussain Emon. Now he achieved this feat for the second time in his career by taking the wicket of Brian Bennett on the first ball against Zimbabwe.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only Indian among the Indian bowlers to take a wicket on the first ball of the innings in T20 International cricket, who has done this feat thrice. At the same time, Mayank Yadav did this twice in just a few international matches and showed how dangerous he can be with the new ball.

Mayank Yadav’s biggest strength is his speed along with accurate line-length. He swings the new ball quickly and gives the batsmen very little time to react. This is why his first ball often proves to be the most difficult for the batsmen. Even against Zimbabwe, he adopted an aggressive stance from the beginning and put pressure on the host team in the first over itself.

Mayank Yadav not only took the wicket on the first ball, but also bowled brilliantly in the entire spell. He took 2 wickets for 18 runs in 4 overs and played an important role in restricting Zimbabwe to a modest score of 125 runs. Thanks to their initial shocks, Zimbabwe’s top order completely disintegrated and the Indian team easily won the match. Mayank was chosen player of the match.