Virat Kohli — the only cricketer to take a wicket on the “0th” ball of a T20I career
Virat Kohli is known around the world for his batting — hunger, timing and relentless consistency. But there’s a quirky, almost-forgotten footnote in his stats that cricket fans love to repeat: he’s the only player to be credited with a wicket on the zeroth delivery of his T20I bowling career. It’s an unusual mix of cricket law, a sharp wicket-keeper and a strange scorecard line that left statisticians smiling. Here’s a clear, factual breakdown of what happened, why it counts, and why the record is unique.
What actually happened — the Old Trafford moment
The incident took place in the only T20I between India and England at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, on 31 August 2011. India batted first; while bowling, Virat Kohli (then an occasional medium-pace option) was handed the ball and delivered what the scorers recorded as a wide. Immediately after that delivery, England’s Kevin Pietersen was stumped by MS Dhoni. The dismissal was recorded in the scorecard as stumped M Dhoni b V Kohli, giving Kohli a wicket in his T20I bowling column — even though he hadn’t yet bowled a legal delivery in the match.
Why the scorecard looks odd
Because the first ball Kohli bowled was an illegal delivery (a wide), it did not count as one of his official legal deliveries for the over. Yet the stumping was a valid method of dismissal and, by the Laws of Cricket, stumpings can stand even when the delivery is a wide — the wicket-keeper’s stumping is still credited and the bowler is charged with the wide and, in this case, also credited with the wicket. The result: Kohli’s bowling analysis showed 0.0–0–1–1 (zero legal deliveries, one wicket, one run conceded) before he bowled his first legitimate ball.
Why this is considered a unique T20I record
Across formats, bowlers sometimes take wickets with their very first legal delivery, and scorecards have many such romantic entries. But being credited with a wicket before your first legal ball — effectively on the “0th” ball — is extraordinary, and Virat Kohli’s instance is widely cited as the only example in T20Is where a player’s bowling figures showed a wicket with zero legal balls bowled. Multiple cricket outlets and record pieces have highlighted this peculiarity when summarizing odd or one-off records.
The rules that make this possible — short and simple
Two pieces of the laws matter here:
- Wide deliveries count as an extra run to the batting side and are charged to the bowler, but a wide does not count as a legal ball in the over. (So the bowler’s legal delivery count stays the same.)
- Stumping is a legitimate dismissal governed by Law 39. A batter can be stumped off a wide; when that happens the dismissal is recorded as a stumping and the wicket is credited to the bowler in the scorecard. That combination — a wide followed by a stumping — is how a bowler can end up with a wicket while still showing zero legal deliveries bowled.
Putting the event in context — not a bowling career, but a memorable stat
This record doesn’t mean Kohli is a secret bowler or that he ever established himself as one. He has rarely bowled in international cricket and his primary identity remains one of the era’s greatest batters. But the Old Trafford episode is a neat statistical oddity that highlights how cricket’s laws and scorekeeping can produce surprising lines in a player’s record.
Statisticians and trivia lovers point to this moment whenever unusual scorecard quirks are discussed. It’s one of those facts that doesn’t change match outcomes but adds color to a player’s story — and to the vast library of cricketing trivia.
How record-keepers treat this: legitimate, rare, and verifiable
The incident is documented in match reports and scorecards from reputable sources (ESPNcricinfo, Cricbuzz), and has been explained in deeper-dive articles about odd records. Because the match scorecard lists the dismissal as “st M Dhoni b V Kohli,” the wicket is officially credited to Kohli in his T20I bowling record. That official recording is why cricket historians treat the entry as legitimate, not a scorer’s error.
What this means for fans and searchers — SEO-friendly takeaways
For readers searching with the focus keyword Virat Kohli, this story serves several useful angles:
- It’s a unique statistical footnote in the career of a batting superstar.
- It highlights how cricket laws (wides and stumpings) can create unusual scorecard lines.
- It’s verifiable via mainstream match reports and scorecards, making the claim durable for articles, listicles and trivia pages. Use the phrase Virat Kohli naturally in headings and opening lines to capture search intent — readers look for both the player and the quirky stat.
Quick factual summary (at a glance)
- Match: England v India, Only T20I, Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester — 31 August 2011.
- Event: Kohli’s first delivery was recorded as a wide; MS Dhoni stumped Kevin Pietersen off that wide. Kohli was credited with the wicket.
- Scorecard line: credited as st M Dhoni b V Kohli; bowling figures showed a wicket with zero legal deliveries at that instant.
Final note — a tidy cricket oddity, still worth remembering
Records like this don’t rewrite careers, but they do make sport more human and more interesting. Virat Kohli’s “0th” ball wicket is a reminder that cricket’s rules — and the people who keep score — sometimes create moments that are equal parts technicality and charm. For fans, writers and SEO-minded content creators, it’s a neat, verifiable nugget to feature under the Virat Kohli banner.
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