ODI World Cup History: Openers with most duck dismissals

Cricket fans are enjoying top-notch cricketing action nowadays as the ODI World Cup 2023 isn’t compromising in delivering spectacular matches. After four games, the hosts India also played their maiden game in this competition against Australia at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. In their first match, Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and elected to bat first. 

After losing the toss, India got an excellent start with the ball as their premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah dismissed dangerous Aussie opener Mitchell Marsh for a six-ball duck. This was the second time in Marsh’s World Cup career that he went back to the pavilion without scoring any runs. As an opener, it was the first time he gave away his wicket on a duck. Moreover, in the Indian innings, Ishan Kishan got out for a duck to become the first Indian opener to add an unwanted record to his name.

As it is expected by the teams to get a good start from their openers to put the opposition under the pump, not many times does it happen that either both or any of the opening batters get out without troubling the scorers at all. As a result, some notable players have got their names etched in the 'most Ducks' club in the ODI World Cup history. In the same vein, it’s time to know the openers who accumulated the most number of ducks in the history of the World Cup. 

Here are the openers with the most ducks in World Cup history:

5. Fakhar Zaman (PAK)- 2 Ducks

Fakhar Zaman has been serving Pakistan since 2017 and this time again, he is a part of Pakistan’s ODI World Cup 2023 team. During the 2019 World Cup, Pakistan concluded their journey in the round-robin stage with just five wins and three losses in nine games. Zaman failed to justify his role with the bat, scoring only 186 runs in eight matches at an average of 23.25.

Speaking of the competition, the southpaw got out on a duck twice. In the big match against Australia at the County Ground, Pakistan were chasing 308 and they needed a stable start from the openers, Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq. However, Zaman failed to hold his nerves, losing his wicket on a zero against Pat Cummins.

The Mardan-born player again failed to prove himself in the must-win game against Afghanistan in Headingley. Although Pakistan chased down 228 in the last over of the match and won the game by three wickets, Zaman's jitters were cut short as he fell on another duck.