Rajasthan Royals (RR) pacer Jofra Archer struck in the frst ball of an innings yet again in IPL 2026, when he removed Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opener Tim Seifert in Kolkata on Sunday.
This is the fifth time that Jofra Archer has struck in the first ball of an innings in IPL, and by doing so, he equalled Mohammed Shami (Five times) for the same. In IPL 2026 alone, this is the third time that Archer has struck in the first ball of an innings.
Looking to chase down a target of 156, Kolkata Knight Riders lost both their openers, Tim Seifert and skipper Ajinkya Rahane, for ducks.
This is only the second instance when KKR have lost both their openers for a duck, with Gautam Gambhir and Jacques Kallis having been dismissed against Delhi Daredevils (Now Delhi Capitals) in 2014 in Dubai.
Let's now take a quick look at all of Jofra Archer's first-ball wickets in an innings in IPL:
Prithvi Shaw (DC vs RR in Dubai, IPL 2020)
During an IPL 2020 match against Delhi Capitals in Dubai five years ago, Jofra Archer, also playing for Rajasthan Royals back then, cleaned up Prithvi Shaw for a golden duck off the first ball of the innings.
It was a short of a length ball just outside off, Shaw ended up playing outside the line, but took the inside edge as the ball crashed onto the middle stump.
Priyansh Arya (RR vs PBKS in Mullanpur, IPL 2025)
Jofra Archer cleaned up Punjab Kings' aggressive opener Priyansh Arya for a golden duck during an IPL 2025 match in Mullanpur. It was a back of a length ball on middle from Archer, and Priyansh Arya looked to defend, but he was beaten on the outside edge as the ball hit the top of off-stump.
Phil Salt (RR vs RCB in Guwahati, IPL 2026)
Jofra Archer got rid of his England teammate Phil Salt when Rajasthan Royals took on Royal Challengers Bengaluru in Guwahati recently. Phil Salt failed to trouble the RCB scorecard as he was edged and caught by RR wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel.
Abhishek Sharma (SRH vs RR in Hyderabad, IPL 2026)
When Rajasthan Royals took on Sunrisers Hyderabad in an away match earlier this season, Jofra Archer removed Abhishek Sharma, who looked to slam a short ball. Abhishek's ploy did not work, as he ended up getting a thick edge that flew towards Ravi Bishnoi at third man.
Tim Seifert (KKR vs RR in Kolkata, IPL 2026)
This is the latest first ball dismissals of Jofra Archer's five such wickets. KKR, looking to chase a target of 156, lost Kiwi opener Tim Seifert early. It was full and straight ball from Archer, and the ball went through the gap between bat and pad. The ball eventually deflected off the pad and crashed onto the stumps.
At the time of updating this report, KKR were in deep trouble at 74/5 in the 12th over, with Rinku Singh and Ramandeep Singh unbeaten.
KKR, lying at the bottom of the 10-team IPL 2026 standings with one point, are the only team yet to clinch a win this season. They have lost five out of their six matches so far, with their match against Punjab Kings (PBKS) being washed out due to rain in Kolkata.
