New Delhi. It is normal for some batsmen to get out without opening their account in an innings of a cricket test match but it is unique for 6 batsmen to get out on 0. In the 147-year history of test cricket, there have been 8 such occasions so far when 6 batsmen of a team had to return to the pavilion without opening their account in an innings. Test cricket officially started on 15 March 1877 but 103 years later in 1980, for the first time such an occasion came when 6 batsmen of the Pakistan team got out on 0 in an innings of a test match against West Indies.
Since the 21st century i.e. 2000, six batsmen of a team have been out on 0 in a Test innings six times. Bangladesh team has made this unwanted record the most number of times i.e. 3 times. However, Bangladesh team showed fighting ability on one occasion and scored 365 runs despite six batsmen getting out on ‘duck’ in the innings, which is the highest score of any team in such a situation. Indian team has faced these embarrassing moments twice.
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Let’s take a look at those Test innings when six batsmen of a team got out on 0..
Pakistan team was all out for 128 on their home ground
For the first time in Test cricket, 6 batsmen of the Pakistani team were out on 0 in the innings. In December 1980, in Karachi, in the first innings of the Test against West Indies (Pakistan Vs West Indies), the Pakistani team was reduced to a score of 128 runs. The interesting thing is that in this score, captain Javed Miandad scored the highest 60, Wasim Bari scored 23 and Imran Khan scored 21 runs. Zaheer Abbas remained unbeaten on 13 runs while 9 runs were included as extras. Six batsmen – Shafiq Ahmed, Sadiq Mohammad, Majid Khan, Ejaz Faqih, Iqbal Qasim and Mohammad Nazir were out without opening their account. However, the consolation for Pakistan was that it was successful in drawing this Test.
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Srinath’s havoc, South Africa was reduced to 105
In November 1996, 6 South African batsmen were out on 0 in the last innings of the Test against India in Ahmedabad. Javagal Srinath took 6 wickets for just 21 runs in this innings and gave India a victory by bundling out South Africa for 105 runs in reply to the target of 170 runs. During this innings, South Africa’s Andrew Hudson, Daryl Cullinan, Jonty Rhodes, Pat Symcox, Fanie de Villiers and Paul Adams could not open their account. Captain Hansie Cronje (48) was the top scorer for South Africa.
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6 batsmen were out on 0, yet Bangladesh scored 365 runs
The Bangladesh team first made this unwanted record in the Dhaka Test (December 2002) against West Indies. Bangladesh was bowled out for just 87 runs during the first innings. Mohammad Ashraful, Alok Kapali, captain Khaled Masood, Inamul Haque, Tapas Baisya and Talha Zuber returned to the pavilion without opening their account. The Indies team won this Test by a huge margin of an innings and 310 runs on the third day itself. In May 2022, in the first innings of the Mirpur Test against Sri Lanka, once again six batsmen of the Bangladesh team – Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Khalid Ahmed and Ibadat Hossain could not open their account. However, Mushfiqur Rahim scored an unbeaten 175 and Liton Das scored 141 to take the team to an impressive score of 365. During Bangladesh’s second innings, three batsmen – Tamim Iqbal, captain Mominul Haque and Khalid Ahmed were out on 0. Sri Lanka won the Test by 10 wickets.
A month after this embarrassment against Sri Lanka, in June 2022, in the North Sound Test against West Indies, 6 Bangladesh batsmen were out without opening their account in the first innings. Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Nazmul Hussain Shanto, Mominul Haque, Narul Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman and Khaled Ahmed were out on 0 and the team was reduced to 103 runs. Due to getting out on this low score in the first innings, Shakib Al Hasan’s team had to face defeat by 7 wickets in the Test.
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6 batsmen out on 0, yet Team India won the test in two days
So far, on two occasions in a Test innings, six batsmen of the Indian team (Team India) have been out on 0. In August 2014, in the first innings of the Manchester Test against England (India Vs England), the Indian team was all out for 152 runs, during which Murali Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Pankaj Singh could not open their account. Captain MS Dhoni scored 71 and R Ashwin scored 40 runs. Stuart Broad took 6 wickets for 25 runs for England and paved the way for the victory of the host team by dismissing the Indian innings on a low score on the very first day of the Test. In the second innings, the Indian team was all out for 161 runs and lost the match by an innings margin.
In January 2024, in the Cape Town Test against South Africa, once again 6 batsmen of the Indian team were out on 0. In this test match played on a difficult wicket in terms of batting, the Indian team won by 7 wickets in two days. In the first innings, the South African team was bowled out for 55 runs in front of the tremendous bowling of Mohammed Siraj (6/15). In response, Team India’s score was once 105 runs for two wickets, but as soon as Shubman Gill was out as the third wicket on this score, there was a flurry of wickets and the entire team was bowled out for 153 runs. Virat Kohli scored the highest 46, captain Rohit Sharma scored 39 and Shubman Gill scored 36 runs while Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna were out on 0. In the second innings, despite Aiden Markram’s century (104), the host team was bowled out for 176 runs. India was given a target of 79 runs to win, which the team achieved by losing 3 wickets.
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The Kiwi team collapsed for 90 runs, three batsmen added 81 of these runs
In Test cricket, 6 batsmen of the New Zealand team have also been out at 0 in an innings once. In the Dubai Test of November 2018, New Zealand’s first innings was reduced to 90 runs in reply to Pakistan’s 418 runs for 5 wickets (innings declared). Wrist spinner Yasir Shah took 8 wickets for 41 runs in 12.3 overs. During the innings, New Zealand’s Jeet Raval and Tom Latham added 50 runs for the first wicket but in a dramatic fashion the entire team could score only 90 runs. In these 90 runs, three batsmen – Raval (31), Latham (22) and captain Kane Williamson (22*) contributed 81 runs. Six Kiwi batsmen – Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Colin de Grandhomme, Ish Sodhi, Neil Wagner and Trent Boult were out at 0. The Kiwi team was all out for 312 runs in the second innings and lost the match by an innings margin. Yasir Shah took 6 wickets in the second innings as well and was the player of the match by taking a total of 14 wickets.
Bangladesh, Team India, Test cricket
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 15, 2024, 16:39 IST