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The Indian Premier League has had many whistle worthy moments and while the ones which have been noticed have been with the bat, there have been players who have impressed with the ball in hand. Cricket is a game of momentum and teams always like to get good starts from their openers and the fielding teams want to pick up early wickets.
The first match of the IPL is always a very important one as it's a mood-setter and gets the fans in the groove to enjoy the weeks of cricketing celebration. The 1st IPL game was a cracker as it proved how destructive and entertaining the T20 format will be and though we remember the first run scorers, we fail to remember the first wicket takers.
Let's take a look at the 11 bowlers who took the 1st wicket in every IPL Season.
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#1- IPL 2008- Zaheer Khan( Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Zaheer Khan was the first wicket-taker in the IPL though most people don't remember him because of Brendon Mcculum's blitzkrieg. The Royal Challengers Bangalore were taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the 1st match of the inaugural edition of the IPL at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore.
Rahul Dravid, the RCB captain chose to bowl first and KKR skipper Sourav Ganguly and Brendon Mccullum opened the batting. Ganguly could make only 10 runs off 12 balls while his partner was smashing the bowlers at the other end. Ganguly was dismissed by Zaheer Khan caught by Jacques Kallis. Sourav didn't have much to worry as Mccullum's 158 ensured that KKR scored 222 runs in 20 overs. In reply, RCB was skittled out cheaply for 82.
Both the teams had an IPL to forget as KKR and RCB occupied 6th and 7th spot in the points table.
#2 IPL 2009- Thilan Thushara( Chennai Super Kings)
The Chennai Super Kings took on the Mumbai Indians in the opening match of IPL 2009 which was held entirely in South Africa. Sanath Jayasuriya and Sachin Tendulkar walked out to the middle opening the batting and exerted some control over the CSK bowlers before Thilan Thushara, the left arm pacer dismissed Jayasuriya for 26 getting him caught by Matthew Hayden.
Mumbai went on to post 165 on the board thanks to Sachin's unbeaten 59. CSK fell short by 19 runs as they were restricted to 146/7 in 20 overs as only Hayden and Dhoni managed to hang around for long.
CSK finished 2nd in the Points table but lost to RCB in the semi-finals. Mumbai, in contrast finished 7th in yet another disappointing season.
#3 IPL 2010- Chaminda Vaas( Deccan Chargers)
IPL 2009 champions Deccan Chargers took on the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first match of IPL 2010. The now-defunct Deccan Chargers won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Sri Lankan fast bowler Chaminda Vaas made an immediate impact in the game's proceedings. He dismissed KKR opener Manoj Tiwary caught by Rohit Sharma off the first ball of the match. Wickets kept falling as Hodge, Gambhir and Pujara were dismissed before the team had crossed the 40-run mark.
Thanks to some great batting by Owais Shah and Angelo Matthews, KKR posted a decent 161/4 for DC to chase. In reply, Deccan Chargers fell short by 11 runs as they finished off with 150/7. After captain Adam Gilchrist's great knock at the top of the order, the middle order failed to consolidate as DC lost the match.
Deccan Chargers finished second in the points table but lost to CSK in the semis. KKR finished sixth in yet another disappointing season.
#4 IPL 2011- Iqbal Abdulla(Kolkata Knight Riders)
The Kolkata Knight Riders took on the Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling opening match of IPL 2011. CSK won the toss and chose to bat first and Iqbal Abdulla, the young left arm spinner bowled the first over. He dismissed opener Murali Vijay for 4 in the 1st over. But fellow opener Anirudha Srikanth played a good innings of 64 to guide CSK to a score of 153/4 in 20 overs.
KKR, in reply had a great start but after Dhoni's brilliant stumping, got back into the game and ended up winning the match by 2 runs. CSK won IPL 2011 and after finishing 2nd, they comprehensively beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the finals. KKR meanwhile finished 4th and qualified for the playoffs but lost to Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator. Iqbal Abdulla won the "Rising Star" award.
#5 DLF IPL 2012- Ambati Rayudu (Run out)- Bowler Malinga (Mumbai Indians)
The opener of DLF IPL 2012 was played between the Mumbai Indians and defending champions Chennai Super Kings. CSK went into bat first but Ambati Rayudu's run out dismissed Faf Du Plessis in the 1st over which Malinga bowled. It wasn't CSK's day as they were bundled out cheaply for 112 in 19.5 overs.
Mumbai finished the match in 16.5 overs and lost just 2 wickets as Richard Levi's half century got them a well deserved victory. Chennai Super Kings weren't at their best but qualified with some help from the Deccan Chargers and made it to the final but lost to KKR in a thrilling final. Mumbai lost to Chennai in the Eliminator and finished 3rd in the points table.
#6 Pepsi IPL 2013- Brett Lee (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders faced Delhi Daredevils(now Delhi Capitals) in the season opener of Pepsi IPL 2013. KKR put DD into bat and Indian U-19 skipper Unmukt Chand and David Warner opened the batting. Brett Lee gave a fiery start to the match as he blew away Unmukt's off stump with a fast outswinger.
After losing a wicket off their first ball, DD couldn't score much and were bundled out for 128. KKR strolled to victory on the backs of contributions from Manvinder Bisla, Gambhir and Kallis. Both the teams failed to make the playoffs as Delhi grabbed the last spot while KKR finished 7th.
#7 Pepsi IPL 2014- Lasith Malinga (Mumbai Indians)
The Kolkata Knight Riders took on the defending champions Mumbai Indians in Pepsi IPL 2014's first match. Part of the tournament was held in the UAE. KKR won the toss and batted first but faced an early setback as skipper Gautam Gambhir got out for a duck after facing 8 balls and was bowled by Lasith Malinga with a vicious yorker.
KKR remained calm and confident as Jacques Kallis and Manish Pandey played great knocks as they posted a respectable total of 163/5 in 20 overs. Mumbai, in reply were restricted to 122/7 handing KKR an easy victory. KKR went on to win the tournament after topping the points table while Mumbai qualified for the playoffs but were defeated by CSK in the Eliminator.
#8 Pepsi IPL 2015- Morne Morkel (Kolkata Knight Riders)
Defending champions KKR took on the Mumbai Indians in the season opener of Pepsi IPL 2015. KKR opted to bowl first and Morne Morkel dismissed Aaron Finch in the 2nd over for a score of just 5 as he was caught by Umesh Yadav after attempting to go over fine leg.
Skipper Rohit Sharma scored an unbeaten 98 to take Mumbai Indians to 168/3 in 20 overs. KKR were even better as they gave a clinical response to Mumbai and won the match by 7 wickets with 9 balls to spare thanks to Robin Uthappa's fifty and crucial knocks from Manish Pandey and Suryakumar Yadav.
KKR finished 5th while Mumbai were 2nd in the table but beat CSK to win their 2nd IPL title.
#9 Vivo IPL 2016- Ishant Sharma (Rising Pune Super Giants)
Rising Pune Super Giants, one of the 2 teams which came in place of CSK and RR after their suspension took on the Mumbai Indians in Vivo IPL 2016's first match. Mumbai chose to bat and Ishant Sharma struck first as he trapped Rohit Sharma LBW. It wasn't the best day for Mumbai as they could manage just 121/8 in their 20 overs.
Pune won easily as Rahane's fifty and Du Plessis and Pietersen's contributions helped them finish off the match easily. Both the teams failed to make the playoffs and while Mumbai finished 5th, Pune finished 7th.
#10 Vivo IPL 2017- Aniket Choudhary (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
Defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad took on RCB in the season opener in Vivo IPL 2017. SRH were put into bat by RCB and Aniket Choudhary picked up the crucial wicket of David Warner early on. But Moises Henriques, Shikhar Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh played very well to take SRH to 207/4 in 20 overs.
RCB, in reply could manage only 172 and were bowled out in 19.4 overs. All the batsmen in the top order contributed some runs as RCB struggled without both Kohli and ABD that match. RCB finished last in 2017 while SRH finished 3rd but lost to KKR in the rain-shortened Eliminator.
#11 Vivo IPL 2018- Deepak Chahar(Chennai Super Kings)
Defending champions Mumbai Indians faced CSK, who were returning from a 2-year suspension in the 11th edition's season opener. The match was an absolute thriller and went down to the wire. CSK won the toss and chose to bowl and Deepak Chahar picked up Evin Lewis' wicket early. Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and the Pandya brothers rallied to save the innings and posted 165/4.
CSK after a quick start faltered and struggled to play young leggie Mayank Markande. DJ Bravo won them the game from an impossible situation. With just one wicket left, Kedar Jadhav who retired hurt overcame severe pain to come back to the crease and hit the winning runs for CSK. CSK finished 2nd on the table and won their 3rd IPL title that season while Mumbai finished 5th.
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