Abdullah Shafique’s third duck helps him join Tendulkar, Ponting in record

Pakistani opener Abdullah Shafique’s struggles with the bat continued in the third ODI against South Africa on Sunday as he was dismissed for his third consecutive duck in the series. His poor run places him alongside cricketing greats, Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, in an unenviable list of players with multiple scoreless innings in a row.

The 25-year-old failed to score at the Wanderers Stadium, falling to South African pacer Kagiso Rabada for a golden duck. Earlier in the series, Shafique was bowled by Marco Jansen for a four-ball duck in the first match at Paarl’s Boland Park. He was then caught behind off Jansen’s bowling in the second ODI in Cape Town for a two-ball duck.

With three consecutive ducks, Shafique has joined a list of cricketing luminaries who share this unwanted record, including Mahela Jayawardene, Shane Watson, and Tendulkar.

The all-time record for consecutive ducks in ODIs stands at four, held by Lasith Malinga, Craig White, and Henry Olonga. Another duck in Shafique’s next outing would see him equal that dubious milestone.

Among Pakistani openers, Shafique is only the second, after Salman Butt, to record three consecutive ducks in ODIs. He also becomes the ninth opener in the history of ODI cricket to achieve this unwelcome feat. The list includes several other Pakistan players, such as Shoaib Mohammad, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Wasim, and Shadab Kabir.