NEW DELHI: Sunrisers Hyderabad’s explosive opener Abhishek Sharma registered an undesirable file through the IPL 2026 conflict towards Rajasthan Royals, falling for a golden duck and leaving the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in shocked silence. Known for his attacking strategy, Abhishek was dismissed off the very first ball by Royals pacer Jofra Archer. Opening alongside Travis Head, he charged down the monitor in an try to dominate early however solely managed a thick prime edge, with Ravi Bishnoi finishing a easy catch within the deep.A visibly pissed off Abhishek hit his gloves towards the bat as he walked again, clearly disillusioned with the early dismissal.It marked the twenty fourth occasion of Rajasthan Royals taking a wicket earlier than conceding a run – probably the most by any crew in IPL historical past – with Mumbai Indians subsequent on 22. It was additionally the twelfth time Rajasthan Royals struck on the primary ball of an innings, one other league file.The duck towards RR was Abhishek’s seventh in 18 T20 innings in 2026 – probably the most by any participant this yr. Cooper Connolly is subsequent on the record with 4 geese in 17 innings.He additionally set an undesirable Indian file for many geese in a calendar yr in T20s, going previous Rohit Sharma and Sanju Samson. Abhishek has seven geese in 2026 (18 innings), in comparison with Rohit’s six in 2018 (32 innings) and Samson’s six in 2024 (32 innings). Gurkeerat Singh Mann had 5 geese in 2013 (19 innings).Among Sunrisers Hyderabad batters, solely Shikhar Dhawan had beforehand been dismissed for a first-ball duck in an IPL match – towards Chennai Super Kings within the 2018 Qualifier 1 – with Abhishek now becoming a member of that record.This was additionally the fourth time Archer has picked up a wicket off the primary ball of an IPL innings. Mohammed Shami leads the chart with 5 such situations, whereas Archer sits second with 4.Earlier, Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag received the toss and selected to bowl. The Royals rested Shimron Hetmyer and Brijesh Sharma, bringing in Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Tushar Deshpande. Sunrisers Hyderabad included Praful Hinge within the XI, whereas Harshal Patel was named among the many impression 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.
