Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Sunrisers Hyderabad’s explosive opener Abhishek Sharma registered an unwanted record during the IPL 2026 clash against Rajasthan Royals, falling for a golden duck and leaving the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in stunned silence. Known for his attacking approach, Abhishek was dismissed off the very first ball by Royals pacer Jofra Archer. Opening alongside Travis Head, he charged down the track in an attempt to dominate early but only managed a thick top edge, with Ravi Bishnoi completing a simple catch in the deep.A visibly frustrated Abhishek hit his gloves against the bat as he walked back, clearly disappointed with the early dismissal.It marked the 24th instance of Rajasthan Royals taking a wicket before conceding a run – the most by any team in IPL history – with Mumbai Indians next on 22. It was also the 12th time Rajasthan Royals struck on the first ball of an innings, another league record.The duck against RR was Abhishek’s seventh in 18 T20 innings in 2026 – the most by any player this year. Cooper Connolly is next on the list with four ducks in 17 innings.He also set an unwanted Indian record for most ducks in a calendar year in T20s, going past Rohit Sharma and Sanju Samson. Abhishek has seven ducks in 2026 (18 innings), compared to Rohit’s six in 2018 (32 innings) and Samson’s six in 2024 (32 innings). Gurkeerat Singh Mann had five ducks in 2013 (19 innings).Among Sunrisers Hyderabad batters, only Shikhar Dhawan had previously been dismissed for a first-ball duck in an IPL match – against Chennai Super Kings in the 2018 Qualifier 1 – with Abhishek now joining that list.This was also the fourth time Archer has picked up a wicket off the first ball of an IPL innings. Mohammed Shami leads the chart with five such instances, while Archer sits second with four.Earlier, Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag won the toss and chose to bowl. The Royals rested Shimron Hetmyer and Brijesh Sharma, bringing in Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Tushar Deshpande. Sunrisers Hyderabad included Praful Hinge in the XI, while Harshal Patel was named among the impact substitutes.Teams:Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (c&wk), Heinrich Klaasen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Eshan Malinga, Praful HingeRajasthan Royals: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Riyan Parag (c), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande.
