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It was the third instance when Starc dismissed a batter on the very first ball of a Test match. He equalled former pacer Collins who had a brief Test career for the West Indies.
The first ball of the Adelaide Test, a fiery inswinger from Mitchell Starc, went like a tracer bullet to trap Yashasvi Jaiswal in front. The Australian quick struck with the first ball to dismiss the Indian opener, joining former West Indies pacer Pedro Collins in an elite list of Test fast bowlers.
It was the third instance when Starc dismissed a batter on the very first ball of a Test match. He equalled former pacer Collins who had a brief Test career for the West Indies. In fact, Collins dismissed the same batter – Bangladesh’s Hannan Sarkar – on the first ball of a Test thrice, between 2002 and 2004.
Sarkar was first dismissed leg-before in Dhaka in late 2002 and then again in back-to-back games in Gros Islet and Kingston in 2004. Despite being a technically sound player, he played just one more match for Bangladesh before being dropped from the team. Meanwhile, Collins played a few more games before his final appearance in 2006.
But Collins shot to fame for his lethal bowling against legendary Sachin Tendulkar during India’s 2002 tour of the Caribbean. He consistently troubled Tendulkar, dismissing him three times across two Tests. Among these dismissals, he claimed Tendulkar for a golden duck and a silver duck, a rare feat. This achievement placed Collins in elite company alongside legends like Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh, and Makhaya Ntini – bowlers who had dismissed Tendulkar for zero more than once.
Jaiswal’s unwanted feat
Jaiswal, who impressed with a brilliant 161 in the second innings of the first Test against Australia in Perth last month, joined an unfortunate list of Indian batters by getting out on the very first ball of a Test match. He became the seventh Indian to suffer this rare dismissal.
Sunil Gavaskar was the first Indian batter to experience this unwelcome milestone. He was dismissed by right-arm pacer Geoff Arnold on the opening ball of the 1974 Test against England in Manchester, played from June 4 to 8.
The legendary 75-year-old cricketer, who holds the distinction of being the first player in Test history to score 10,000 runs, endured this fate two more times during his illustrious career, earning him a unique place in cricket’s record books.
- Location :
Adelaide, Australia