ENG vs SA, ICC World Cup 2019: Imran Tahir becomes 1st ever spinner to bowl first over in ICC World Cup

South Africa skipper Plessis’ unusual move to start the innings with a leggie helped Tahir create history as he became the first-ever spinner to bowl the first over in the ICC Cricket World Cup.

South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bowl against England in the World Cup opener at The Oval on Thursday. South Africa star spinner Imran Tahir got a dream start in the ICC Cricket World Cup by handing a golden duck to English opener Jonny Bairstow. South Africa skipper Plessis’ unusual move to start the innings with a leggie turned out to be a deadly one for the hosts. The overjoyed spinner then set off to a celebratory lap as he bowled a beauty to get through Bairstow’s defence and give an early blow to England. With this wicket, Tahir scripted history by becoming the first-ever spinner to bowl the first over in the ICC Cricket World Cup.

Imran Tahir is off and running. He becomes the first spinner EVER to deliver the first ball in a World Cup and he dismissed Jonny Bairstow for a GOLDEN DUCK.#CWC2019 #ENGvSA pic.twitter.com/ZFm4rSv6pw

— Harry Potter (@Zaidabdulrauf) May 30, 2019

#ENGvSA What a start for Imran Tahir pic.twitter.com/RWQtNtqVeV

— IvarGustavo (@EmkayDoeB) May 30, 2019

The 44-year-old's wild celebration became the talk of the town on Twitter.

#ENGvSA What a start for Imran Tahir pic.twitter.com/RWQtNtqVeV

— IvarGustavo (@EmkayDoeB) May 30, 2019

After receiving an early blow, England's Jason Roy asmd Joe Root steadied their team's innings and became the first batsmen to bring up their half-centuries in World Cup 2019. Playing XIs: England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis (c), Rassie van der Dussen, Jean-Paul Duminy, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir