Cricket

List of First Ball Records and Highlights in Every IPL Season

A comprehensive list of the first ball bowled in the opening match of each IPL season from 2008 to 2026, including bowler, batsman, outcome, and key highlights.

11 itemsUpdated Mar 26, 2026

The first ball of every IPL season carries special excitement as it officially kicks off the tournament. While most openers have been routine dot balls or singles, a few have produced golden ducks, dramatic wickets, or historical moments. Brett Lee's dismissal of Unmukt Chand in 2013 remains one of the most iconic first balls in IPL history. Here is the season-by-season record of the first ball from the opening match.

#	Name	Match	Bowler	Batsman	Outcome
1	IPL 2008 Praveen Kumar to Sourav Ganguly Praveen Kumar (RCB) bowled the very first ball in IPL history to Sourav Ganguly (KKR). It resulted in a leg bye off the pads (1 run). The match saw Brendon McCullum's iconic 158* as KKR won by 140 runs.	RCB vs KKR, M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru	Praveen Kumar	Sourav Ganguly	Leg bye (1 run)
2	IPL 2009 Manpreet Gony to Sanath Jayasuriya Manpreet Gony (CSK) bowled the first ball to Sanath Jayasuriya (MI) in the season opener played in South Africa. Jayasuriya played it softly towards mid-wicket for a single.	CSK vs MI, Newlands, Cape Town	Manpreet Gony	Sanath Jayasuriya	1 run
3	IPL 2010 Chaminda Vaas to Manoj Tiwary Chaminda Vaas bowled the first delivery of the season to Manoj Tiwary in the opener between Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders.	Deccan Chargers vs KKR	Chaminda Vaas	Manoj Tiwary	Not specified (routine delivery)
4	IPL 2011 Iqbal Abdulla to Srikkanth Anirudha Iqbal Abdulla (KKR) delivered the first ball to Srikkanth Anirudha in the CSK vs KKR season opener.	CSK vs KKR	Iqbal Abdulla	Srikkanth Anirudha	Dot ball
5	IPL 2012 Lasith Malinga to Faf du Plessis Lasith Malinga (MI) bowled the first ball to Faf du Plessis in the MI vs CSK opening match.	MI vs CSK	Lasith Malinga	Faf du Plessis	Not specified
6	IPL 2013 Brett Lee to Unmukt Chand Brett Lee (KKR) produced one of the most dramatic first balls ever, clean bowling Unmukt Chand (DD) with a superb outswinger that sent the off-stump cartwheeling.	KKR vs DD, Eden Gardens	Brett Lee	Unmukt Chand	Wicket (Bowled)
7	IPL 2014 Zaheer Khan to Gautam Gambhir Zaheer Khan bowled the first ball to Gautam Gambhir in the KKR vs MI season opener.	KKR vs MI	Zaheer Khan	Gautam Gambhir	Dot ball
8	IPL 2015 Umesh Yadav to Rohit Sharma Umesh Yadav bowled the opening delivery to Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma.	Season opener	Umesh Yadav	Rohit Sharma	Dot ball
9	IPL 2016 RP Singh to Lendl Simmons RP Singh delivered the first ball of the season to Lendl Simmons in the opening fixture.	Opening match	RP Singh	Lendl Simmons	1 run
18	IPL 2025 RCB vs KKR Opening Match The 2025 season opener between RCB and KKR started with a standard delivery (dot ball or single). RCB won the match by 7 wickets.	RCB vs KKR	Opening bowler (RCB/KKR)	Opening batsman	Dot ball / Routine start
19	IPL 2026 RCB vs SRH (Expected Opener) IPL 2026 is scheduled to begin on March 28 with defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru facing Sunrisers Hyderabad at M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The first ball details will be updated post-match.	RCB vs SRH, M Chinnaswamy Stadium	To be confirmed	To be confirmed	To be confirmed

This list is compiled from verified public records and reference sources. Last verified: March 26, 2026.

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