In the history of international ODI cricket, many unique records have been created that leave cricket fans astonished. One such extremely rare and historic record is hitting a six off the very first ball of one’s ODI career. While in the cricket world, batsmen take some time after coming to the crease and prefer to respect the first ball, select batsmen of the world have created a stir by sending the first ball across the boundary as soon as they came. The most interesting thing is that in the more than 50 years of ODI history of Indian cricket, only one Indian player has been able to touch this magical figure.
The only Alexander of Indian cricket who hit a six on the first ball.
The only Indian batsman to join this exclusive club is none other than Team India’s dashing wicketkeeper-batsman, Ishan Kishan. Ishan Kishan began his ODI career with a bang. From the moment he stepped onto the field, he proved that he was destined to become the next sensation in Indian batting. His fearless and aggressive approach surprised everyone, from selectors to cricket pundits.
When and against which team was this historical record made?
This historic event occurred during India’s tour of Sri Lanka in 2021. Ishan Kishan made his debut in this ODI match played in Colombo. When he came out to bat during the Indian innings, Sri Lankan off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva was bowling. Without hesitation or nervousness, Ishan used his footwork to hit a magnificent and towering six over long-on on the very first ball he faced. With this six, his name was forever etched in the pages of history.
These legends are included in this special club of world cricket.
Globally, the number of batsmen who have hit a six off their first ball in ODI cricket is very few. Before Ishan Kishan, names like West Indies’ explosive opener Chris Gayle, Sri Lanka’s Johan Gunnesekera, and Canada’s Mark Baweja have joined this unique club. But in Indian cricket, even legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni, or Rohit Sharma couldn’t achieve a feat on their debut, which young Ishan Kishan accomplished in the blink of an eye.
Ishan created another record by scoring a half-century in his debut match.
Ishan Kishan didn’t stop at hitting a six off the first ball, but also played a highly aggressive half-century of 59 runs in his debut ODI, facing just 42 balls. He hit eight fours and two magnificent sixes in this innings. With this, he became the first Indian batsman, and one of the few in the world, to score half-centuries in both his ODI and T20I debuts. Even today, his record remains a major inspiration for new players.