Batsmen dismissed by the first ball of a test match – KL Rahul of India is the new entrant to the list
KL Rahul of India was dismissed by the first ball of the test match – he was dismissed caught by N Dickwella off the bowling of RAS Lakmal for a duck in the ongoing first test against Sri Lanka at Kolkata – to provide the 31st occasion of a batsman dismissed by the first ball of a match in the annals of test cricket. All such occasions are tabulated below
| No | Batsman | Bowler | Team | Oppn | Ground | Season |
| 1 | AC MacLaren | A Coningham | Eng | Aus | Melbourne | 1894/95 |
| 2 | TW Hayward | AEE Vogler | Eng | SAF | The Oval | 1907 |
| 3 | W Bardsley | MW Tate | Aus | Eng | Leeds | 1926 |
| 4 | H Sutcliffe | FT Badcock | Eng | NZl | Christchurch | 1932/33 |
| 5 | TS Worthington | EL McCormick | Eng | Aus | Brisbane | 1936/37 |
| 6 | CC Hunte | Fazal Mahmood | Win | Pak | Port-of-Spain | 1957/58 |
| 7 | EJ Barlow | GD McKenzie | SAF | Aus | Durban | 1966/67 |
| 8 | RC Fredericks | S Abid Ali | Win | Ind | Port-of-Spain | 1970/71 |
| 9 | KR Stackpole | RJ Hadlee | Aus | NZl | Auckland | 1973/74 |
| 10 | SM Gavaskar | GG Arnold | Ind | Eng | Birmingham | 1974 |
| 11 | SS Naik | AME Roberts | Ind | Win | Kolkata | 1974/75 |
| 12 | JFM Morrison | GG Arnold | NZl | Eng | Christchurch | 1974/75 |
| 13 | Mohsin Khan | N Kapil Dev | Pak | Ind | Jullundur | 1983/84 |
| 14 | SM Gavaskar | MD Marshall | Ind | Win | Kolkata | 1983/84 |
| 15 | SM Gavaskar | Imran Khan | Ind | Pak | Jaipur | 1986/87 |
| 16 | WV Raman | RJ Hadlee | Ind | NZl | Napier | 1989/90 |
| 17 | SJ Cook | N Kapil Dev | SAF | Ind | Durban | 1992/93 |
| 18 | G Kirsten | CEL Ambrose | SAF | Win | Cape Town | 1998/99 |
| 19 | ST Jayasuriya | GD McGrath | Srl | Aus | Galle | 1999 |
| 20 | Garrick | AA Donald | Win | SAF | Kingston | 2000/01 |
| 21 | SS Das | M Dillon | Ind | Win | Bridgetown | 2001/02 |
| 22 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Dhaka | 2002/03 |
| 23 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Gros Islet | 2004 |
| 24 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Kingston | 2004 |
| 25 | W Jaffer | Mashrafe Mortaza | Ind | Ban | Chittagong (CDS) | 2007 |
| 36 | D Ganga | RJ Sidebottom | Win | Eng | Ch-le-St | 2007 |
| 27 | TG McIntosh | Mohammad Aamer | NZl | Pak | Dunedin | 2009/10 |
| 28 | AJ Strauss | DW Steyn | Eng | SAF | Johannesburg | 2009/10 |
| 29 | CH Gayle | RAS RAS Lakmal | Srl | Win | Pallekele | 2010/11 |
| 30 | FDM Karunaratne | MA Starc | Srl | Aus | Galle | 2016 |
| 31 | KL Rahul | RAS Lakmal | Ind | Srl | Kolkata | 2017/18 |
KL Rahul became the sixth Indian batsman to be dismissed by the first ball of a test. His dismissal provides the eighth occasion of an Indian batsman dismissed by the first ball of a test. All such occasions are tabulated below
| No | Batsman | Bowler | Team | Oppn | Ground | Season |
| 1 | SM Gavaskar | GG Arnold | Ind | Eng | Birmingham | 1974 |
| 2 | SS Naik | AME Roberts | Ind | Win | Kolkata | 1974/75 |
| 3 | SM Gavaskar | MD Marshall | Ind | Win | Kolkata | 1983/84 |
| 4 | SM Gavaskar | Imran Khan | Ind | Pak | Jaipur | 1986/87 |
| 5 | WV Raman | RJ Hadlee | Ind | NZl | Napier | 1989/90 |
| 6 | SS Das | M Dillon | Ind | Win | Bridgetown | 2001/02 |
| 7 | W Jaffer | Mashrafe Mortaza | Ind | Ban | Chittagong (CDS) | 2007 |
| 8 | KL Rahul | RAS Lakmal | Ind | Srl | Kolkata | 2017/18 |
Kolkata witnessed the such occasion on three occasions – most witnessed on any ground. Christchurch, Durban, Galle and Kingston and Port of Spain are the other grounds which have witnessed such instances on two occasions
| No | Batsman | Bowler | Team | Oppn | Ground | Season |
| 1 | SS Naik | AME Roberts | Ind | Win | Kolkata | 1974/75 |
| 2 | SM Gavaskar | MD Marshall | Ind | Win | Kolkata | 1983/84 |
| 3 | KL Rahul | RAS Lakmal | Ind | Srl | Kolkata | 2017/18 |
| 1 | H Sutcliffe | FT Badcock | Eng | NZl | Christchurch | 1932/33 |
| 2 | JFM Morrison | GG Arnold | NZl | Eng | Christchurch | 1974/75 |
| 1 | EJ Barlow | GD McKenzie | SAF | Aus | Durban | 1966/67 |
| 2 | SJ Cook | N Kapil Dev | SAF | Ind | Durban | 1992/93 |
| 1 | ST Jayasuriya | GD McGrath | Srl | Aus | Galle | 1999 |
| 2 | FDM Karunaratne | MA Starc | Srl | Aus | Galle | 2016 |
| 1 | Garrick | AA Donald | Win | SAF | Kingston | 2000/01 |
| 2 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Kingston | 2004 |
| 1 | CC Hunte | Fazal Mahmood | Win | Pak | Port-of-Spain | 1957/58 |
| 2 | RC Fredericks | S Abid Ali | Win | Ind | Port-of-Spain | 1970/71 |
KL Rahul’s dismissal provided the fifth occasion on Indian soil. All such occasions are listed below
| No | Batsman | Bowler | Team | Oppn | Ground | Season |
| 1 | SS Naik | AME Roberts | Ind | Win | Kolkata | 1974/75 |
| 2 | Mohsin Khan | N Kapil Dev | Pak | Ind | Jullundur | 1983/84 |
| 3 | SM Gavaskar | MD Marshall | Ind | Win | Kolkata | 1983/84 |
| 4 | SM Gavaskar | Imran Khan | Ind | Pak | Jaipur | 1986/87 |
| 5 | KL Rahul | RAS Lakmal | Ind | Srl | Kolkata | 2017/18 |
Hannan Sarkar and SM Gavaskar are the two batsmen who are dismissed by the first ball of the test on three occasions. The following table lists their dismissals
| No | Batsman | Bowler | Team | Oppn | Ground | Season |
| 1 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Dhaka | 2002/03 |
| 2 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Gros Islet | 2004 |
| 3 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Kingston | 2004 |
| 1 | SM Gavaskar | GG Arnold | Ind | Eng | Birmingham | 1974 |
| 2 | SM Gavaskar | MD Marshall | Ind | Win | Kolkata | 1983/84 |
| 3 | SM Gavaskar | Imran Khan | Ind | Pak | Jaipur | 1986/87 |
Hannan Sarkar’s three first ball dismissals are unique in the annals of test cricket. On all the three occasions, he was dismissed by the same bowler PT Collins of West Indies. His dismissals are tabulated below
| No | Batsman | Bowler | Team | Oppn | Ground | Season |
| 1 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Dhaka | 2002/03 |
| 2 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Gros Islet | 2004 |
| 3 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Kingston | 2004 |
GG Arnold {02} , N Kapil Dev {02}. PT Collins {03}, RAS Lakmal {02} and RJ Hadlee {02} are the five bowlers who have dismissed a batsman by the first ball of the match on two or more occasions. The feats of these bowlers are listed below
| No | Batsman | Bowler | Team | Oppn | Ground | Season |
| 1 | SM Gavaskar | GG Arnold | Ind | Eng | Birmingham | 1974 |
| 2 | JFM Morrison | GG Arnold | NZl | Eng | Christchurch | 1974/75 |
| 1 | Mohsin Khan | N Kapil Dev | Pak | Ind | Jullundur | 1983/84 |
| 2 | SJ Cook | N Kapil Dev | SAF | Ind | Durban | 1992/93 |
| 1 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Dhaka | 2002/03 |
| 2 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Gros Islet | 2004 |
| 3 | Hannan Sarkar | PT Collins | Ban | Win | Kingston | 2004 |
| 1 | CH Gayle | RAS Lakmal | Win | Srl | Pallekele | 2010/11 |
| 2 | KL Rahul | RAS Lakmal | Ind | Srl | Kolkata | 2017/18 |
| 1 | KR Stackpole | RJ Hadlee | Aus | NZl | Auckland | 1973/74 |
| 2 | WV Raman | RJ Hadlee | Ind | NZl | Napier | 1989/90 |