IPL: Most first-over wickets
The Indian Premier League is the grandest T20 league in world cricket. The tournament brings the best Indian and international talent on one platform and treats the fans with some mind-boggling cricketing action. Over the years, fans have seen everything happening in the IPL, from gigantic sixes to unbelievable deliveries, the tournament has given it all.
The tournament promises entertainment at each and every ball of the match which is evident in every IPL game. However, there’s nothing that gets the crowd going like a wicket in the first over of a match or an innings. The crowd just goes berserk seeing the back of the opponent’s most dangerous batter early in the innings. On that note, let’s take a look at the top three bowlers with the most wickets in the first over in IPL:
- Praveen Kumar (15 wickets)
The right-arm seamer has had a 10-year-long IPL career, in which he has played 119 matches and picked 90 wickets at an average of 36.12. Kumar famously picked up a hat trick in the 2010 edition of the tournament against Rajasthan Royals and became the sixth player in the history of the tournament to achieve the feat. The medium-fast bowler has 15 wickets in the first over to his name and has deceived the batters with his immaculate control.
- Trent Boult (17 wickets)
The left-arm seamer from New Zealand is one of the best new-ball bowlers in the world. Boult can swing the new ball both ways, which keeps the batters guessing while facing him. In 79 matches of his IPL career, the 33-year-old has scalped 94 wickets at an average of 26.55. He has picked up 17 wickets in the first over, making him one of the deadliest bowlers with the new ball.
- Bhuvneshwar Kumar (20 wickets)
Having made his IPL debut in 2011, Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the third-highest wicket-taker among seamers in the history of the tournament. He has played 147 matches in his career, scalping 154 wickets at an average of 26.02. The 33-year-old further has the most number of wickets in the first over in the tournament’s history, with 20 to his name.
All stats accurate till 4th April*
