3 bowlers who have taken wicket off first ball in their first ODI World Cup game

IND vs PAK 2019 WC (Source: Twitter)

It is every cricketer's dream to represent their country in the World Cup. If they can contribute to the team by scoring some runs or taking wickets, it will be a great moment. And what if he/she takes a wicket on the very first ball of their World Cup debut? That would be a sensational feat for any bowler in his career.

There will be a lot of pressure when you are making your World Cup debut. Taking a first-ball wicket would be a huge achievement for any player, but it is not as easy as one might think, which is why only a few get to be a part of the record.

In this article, we look at three players who took a wicket off their first delivery in their first ODI World Cup game

1. Ian Harvey (Australia) - vs Pakistan in 2003 World Cup

Former Australia medium-pacer Ian Harvey is the first bowler to take a wicket in the first ball of the World Cup debut. During the group-stage match against Pakistan, Harvey grabbed the wicket of Saleem Elahi on his first delivery of the World Cup.

Batting first, Australia scored 310 runs from 50 overs on the back of Andrew Symonds' century. In reply, Pakistan lost 3 wickets early in the innings but Elahi and Mohammad Yousuf tried to build a partnership to get their team back on track. However, Harvey provided a breakthrough by removing Elahi, and Australia went on to win the game by 82 runs. The right-arm seamer finished his spell with figures of 4/58.

2. Malachi Jones (Bermuda) - vs India in 2007 World Cup

Malachi Jones claimed the record in a group-stage match between India and Bermuda in 2007, when he took the wicket of Robin Uthappa in the first innings. Apart from Jones' first-ball wicket, Bermuda had nothing to cheer about as India amassed a massive total of 413 thanks to Virender Sehwag's century and half-centuries from Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh, and Sachin Tendulkar.

Anil Kumble and Ajit Agarkar took 3 wickets each to restrict Bermuda to 156 runs and give India a record 257-run victory. However, India's World Cup campaign was cut short in the group stage after defeats to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

3. Vijay Shankar (India) - vs Pakistan in 2019 World Cup

Vijay Shankar, who was embroiled in a '3D controversy' after replacing Ambati Raydu in the 2019 World Cup squad, is the latest player to hold this record. While defending a respectable score of 337, India's star pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar suffered a hamstring injury while bowling his third over. Captain Virat Kohli gave the ball to Shankar to complete the over and he claimed his maiden World Cup wicket on the very first ball.

The all-rounder trapped Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq in front of the wicket. Earlier, Rohit Sharma scored a magnificent ton(140 off 113 balls) and played a key role in India's 89-run win (DLS method) in a rain-affected match.