Punjab Kings batter Priyansh Arya etched his name into the history books when he hit Mitchell Starc for a six on the first ball of the clash against the Delhi Capitals on Monday, May 11. Arya, who has made an impressive impact in the IPL, started in a similar attacking vein against the Capitals in the clash at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala.
Priyansh smashed the first ball of the match that he faced for a six as he welcomed Starc in style. The PBKS opener carved a fuller ball from the Aussie quick over cover point for a maximum to begin the proceedings. He has now achieved a huge IPL record.
This was the second time that Priyansh hit a six off the first ball of a match, making him the first to achieve the feat on multiple occasions. Apart from him, Naman Ojha, Virat Kohli, Phil Salt and Yashasvi Jaiswal have hit a six off the first ball of the match, but all the rest did so only once. Kohli has done it once, but Rohit has not done it even one time.
Six off the first ball of an IPL match:
Naman Ojha (RR) off Brad Hodge (KKR), Durban, 2009
Virat Kohli (RCB) off Varun Aaron (RR), Bengaluru, 2019
Phil Salt (KKR) off Nuwan Thushara (MI), Kolkata, 2024
Priyansh Arya (PBKS) off Khaleel Ahmed (CSK), Mullanpur, 2025
Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR) off Mitchell Starc (DC), Jaipur, 2026
Priyansh Arya (PBKS) off Mitchell Starc (DC), Dharamsala, 2026*
Starc gives 22 off the first over
Starc erred in his line and lengths in the first over and conceded 22 runs. After the six, he bowled a bouncer that sailed over the batter and the wicketkeeper, KL Rahul. Priyansh hit Starc for another six on the fourth ball, a leading edge that went over deep backward square leg, before Prabhsimran Singh smashed him for a four towards covers on the final ball.
The 22 runs that Starc conceded are the most he has ever conceded in the first over of a T20 innings. It goes past the previous highest of 15 that he leaked playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders against the DC in 2024.
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