New Delhi: Sunrisers Hyderabad’s explosive opener Abhishek Sharma Recorded an undesirable record during the IPL 2026 clash against Rajasthan Royals, falling for a golden duck and leaving the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in silence. Known for his attacking style, Abhishek was dismissed on the very first ball by Royals fast bowler Jofra Archer. Opening with Travis Head, he charged down the track in an attempt to dominate early on but only managed a thick top edge, Ravi Bishnoi completing an easy catch in the deep.A clearly frustrated Abhishek hit his gloves with the bat as he walked back, clearly disappointed at the early dismissal.It is the 24th instance of Rajasthan Royals taking a wicket before conceding a run – the most by any team in IPL history – with Mumbai Indians on 22. It was also the 12th time Rajasthan Royals hit a six off the first ball of an innings, another league record.It was Abhishek’s seventh duck in 18 T20 innings against RR in 2026 – the most by any player that year. Cooper Connolly is next on the list with four ducks in 17 innings.He also held the coveted Indian record for most ducks in a calendar year in T20s, surpassing 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’s batsmen, only Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed on the first ball in the first IPL match – in the 2018 Qualifier 1 against Chennai Super Kings – Abhishek now joins the list.It was also the fourth time that Archer took a wicket on the first ball of an IPL innings. Mohammad Shami tops the chart with five such incidents, while Archer is second with four.Earlier, Rajasthan Royals captain Ryan Prag won the toss and elected to bowl. Royals rested Shimron Hetmyer and Brijesh Sharma, bringing in Luan Dre Pretorius and Tushar Deshpande. Sunrisers Hyderabad included Praful Hinge in the playing XI, while Harshal Patel was named as an impact substitute.Teams:Sunrisers Hyderabad: Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head, Ishan Kishan (C&W), Henrik Klaasen, Salil Arora, Aniket Verma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harsh Dubey, Shivang Kumar, Ishan Malinga, Praful Hinge.Rajasthan Royals: Yashwi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jorrell (wk), Ryan Parag (c), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Donovan Ferreira, Ravindra Jadeja, Jofra Archer, Nandre Burger, Sandeep Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Tushar Deshpande.
