IPL 2023: First six, First four, First Wicket, First half-century, First Century

The 16th season of the Indian Premier League began on 31st March, 2023. First match of the IPL saw the defending champions, Gujarat Titans beating four time champion Chennai Super Kings. The Hardik Pandya led side won by 5 wickets with four balls remaining in spite of a great knock by CSK opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad. Here is a look at the first six, four, wicket, century and more in IPL 2023.

First Six

The first six of IPL 2023 was smashed by Ruturaj Gaikwad. He smashed the ball over the ropes on the first ball of the third over. Joshua Little, making his debut in the IPL was at the receiving end of the shot. It was a short ball directed towards Gaikwad’s body which he pulled over fine leg for a maximum.

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First Four

The first four of the IPL 2023 was hit by Ruturaj Gakwad. The boundary came against the Titans captain, Hardik Pandya. It was the first ball of the second over when Pandya bowled a tad too straight to the CSK opener. Gaikwad showed beautiful wrist work to smack the middle length pitched ball through mid wicket.

First over/ball

The first over or the first ball of IPL 2023 was bowled by Mohammed Shami. Shami opened the bowling for Gujarat Titans after they won the toss and opted to bowl. It was a length ball slanted on middle and leg which was pushed by Devon Conway to mid wicket, resulting in a dot ball.

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First Wicket

The first wicket of IPL 2023 was taken by Mohammed Shami as he clean bowled the left-handed opener, Devon Conway. It was not as threatening of a delivery as Conway made it look. It was a fast ball at full length which tempted Conway to go for the drive. It was a loose drive from Conway as his front foot did not move. The ball nipped in sharply to go through his bat and legs to rattle the middle and off stump.

First Half-Century

The first half-century of the IPL 2023 was scored by Ruturaj Gaikwad. He completed his fifty in the ninth over. It was the fourth ball of the ninth over from Alzarri Joseph, Gaikwad smashed it for six runs and reached his fifty in style in just 23 balls. It was a back of length delivery which was pulled by Gaikwad into the crowd over square leg.

First Impact player

The first impact player of IPL 2023 was Tushar Deshpande of Chennai Super Kings. Deshpande replaced the CSK batter Rayudu. He was given the responsibility to share the new ball with Deepak Chahar. He was bowling the second over of the innings as his first surely created an impact but for the opposition team. Deshpande conceded six runs off his first ball, it was a back of the length delivery which Wriddhiman Saha top-edged. The ball went flying over the third man. To know more about the new rules check out this article.

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First Player of the Match

The first player of the match in the IPL 2023 was Afghanistan’s premier leg-spinner, Rashid Khan. Rashid received the award not just for his heroics with the ball in hand but also for his power hitting while batting lower down the order. In the first innings, Rashid took two wickets off his four overs. Rashid picked the two strong English players, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes and gave away only 26 runs. His job was not done yet as in the second innings he scored 10 runs in just three balls to seal the victory for his side.

First 5-Wicket haul

The first five wicket haul of the IPL 2023 was taken by Mark Wood. In the third game of this season Wood took five wickets against the Delhi Capital. The speedster from Lucknow SuperGiants took five wickets in his four overs while conceding only 14 runs. Prithvi Shaw, Mitchell Marsh, Sarfaraz Khan, Axar Patel and Chetan Sakariya were the victims of Wood’s searing pace.