Even though Rajasthan Royals (RR) continued their horrible downfall towards the backend of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, their new ball bowler Trent Boult writes a new record in the history of the tournament.
The inaugural champions of the richest T20 league lost their fourth game on the bounce. Opting to bat first, the Rajasthan Royals reached 144/9 in their allotted 20 overs, as none of the batters could find the middle of the bat for a consistent period.
Royals began superbly with a wicket in the first over with the ball from Trent Boult, as the opponents Punjab Kings (PBKS) were struggling at 48/4 at the end of eight overs. Sam Curran, however, with his unbeaten 63-run knock propelled them over the line with five-wickets in hand.
Trent Boult achieves a new record in IPL history
The onus for giving the Rajasthan Royals a great start with the ball was on the experienced New Zealand pace-bowler Trent Boult, who with his left-arm swing has made life tough for the batters in the powerplay.
On the third ball of the very first over, Punjab’s opener Prabhsimran Singh used his feet to smash Boult straight down the ground for a rollicking boundary to open their boundary account.
On the very next ball, the bowler drew the first blood with the wicket of Prabhsimran Singh. Boult pulled the length of the ball, and kept him outside the striking zone of the batter, who looked to swing the bat. The ball took the top edge of the blade and flew towards the short third-man region.
Yuzvendra Chahal was waiting there, before going back, grabbed a reverse cup catch. Boult was praying for the catch to be taken while the ball was in the air. In fact, Chahal was so nervous that he was trembling a little before taking the catch.
With that wicket, Trent Boult went past a legendary India bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, in taking the most wickets in the first over. The Kiwi bowler now has picked up 28 wickets in the very first over of the IPL in 91 overs, at an average of 17.54 and an economy of 5.40 with a strike rate of 19.50.
The Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowler, Bhuvi has 27 scalps in 121 overs at an economy of 5.02 and an average of 22.48.
Here is the list of bowlers with most wickets in the first over in the IPL history:
| Player | Overs | Wickets | Economy |
| Trent Boult | 91 | 28 | 5.40 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 121 | 27 | 5.02 |
| Praveen Kumar | 89 | 15 | 5.04 |
| Deepak Chahar | 77 | 13 | 6.48 |
| Sandeep Sharma | 78 | 13 | 5.41 |
| Zaheer Khan | 65 | 12 | 6.05 |
When it comes to taking wickets in the very first over in this IPL 2024, Boult also sits at the top with six wickets in 13 overs at an average of 10.33 and an economy of 4.77.
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List of Bowlers with most wickets in the first over of the IPL history
| Player | Overs | Wickets | Economy |
| Trent Boult | 13 | 06 | 4.77 |
| Nuwan Thusara | 04 | 03 | 7.75 |
| Swapnil Singh | 04 | 03 | 7.50 |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 08 | 02 | 4.00 |
| Khaleel Ahmed | 10 | 02 | 8.40 |
Trent Boult now has 12 wickets in 13 innings of the IPL 2024 at an economy of 8.42. Rajasthan Royals, who are already qualified for the playoffs, are at the second position in the points table with eight wins in 13 games at a net run rate (NRR) of +0.273.
They will take on the Kolkata Knight Riders on May 19 at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.