New Delhi: Mitchell Starc was set to open the bowling for Delhi Capitals against Punjab Kings in their crucial IPL 2026 clash at Dharamsala. However, PBKS opener Priyansh Arya had other plans. On the very first ball of the match, Priyansh stepped out and smashed Starc for a stunning six over cover point, immediately putting Delhi Capitals under pressure and lighting up the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium crowd.
Elite list entry
The shot helped Priyansh enter an elite IPL list of batters to hit a six off the very first ball of a match. Before him, only a handful of players had achieved the rare feat:
- Naman Ojha (RR) off Brad Hodge (KKR), Durban, 2009
- Virat Kohli (RCB) off Varun Aaron (RR), Bengaluru, 2019
- Phil Salt (KKR) off Nuwan Thushara (MI), Kolkata, 2024
- Priyansh Arya (PBKS) off Khaleel Ahmed (CSK), Mullanpur, 2025
- Yashasvi Jaiswal (RR) off Mitchell Starc (DC), Jaipur, 2026
- Priyansh Arya (PBKS) off Mitchell Starc (DC), Dharamsala, 2026
Interestingly, earlier this season Yashasvi Jaiswal had also smashed Starc for a six off the opening ball in Jaipur.
Most opening-ball sixes in IPL
With this latest maximum, Yashasvi continues to lead the chart for most sixes off the first ball of an IPL innings with four, while Priyansh moved to second place with three.
- 4 - Yashasvi Jaiswal
- 3 - Priyansh Arya
Match details
Earlier, Delhi Capitals captain Axar Patel won the toss and opted to field first. Delhi made five changes to their playing XI, bringing in Abishek Porel, Sahil Parekh, David Miller, Madhav Tiwari and Aaquib Nabi. Punjab Kings, meanwhile, handed a debut to Australian left-arm pacer Ben Dwarshuis, who replaced the injured Lockie Ferguson.
Playing XIs
Punjab Kings: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Priyansh Arya, Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (c), Suryansh Shedge, Marcus Stoinis, Shashank Singh, Marco Jansen, Ben Dwarshuis, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.
Delhi Capitals: KL Rahul (wk), Abishek Porel, Sahil Parakh, Tristan Stubbs, David Miller, Axar Patel (c), Madhav Tiwari, Mukesh Kumar, Auqib Nabi Dar, Mitchell Starc, Lungi Ngidi.
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