0, 0, 0: Abhishek Sharma Equals 'Most Ducks' Record In T20 World Cup, Wearing Mohammed Siraj's Jersey Doesn't Work

Abhishek Sharma's wait for his first run in the T20 World Cup just got longer. After ducks against the USA and Pakistan, the world No. 1 T20I batter was dismissed for 0 against the Netherlands on Wednesday in Ahmedabad. On the third ball of the opening over bowled by Aryan Dutt, Abhishek attempted a pull but the ball skidded through, beat him, and hit the stumps. Interestingly, Abhishek Sharma was wearing Mohammed Siraj's jersey, but that did nothing to change his luck.

With his third duck in as many matches, Abhishek now jointly holds the record for the most ducks for India in T20 World Cups. He shares the top spot with Ashish Nehra. Pakistan's Shahid Afridi and Sri Lanka's Tillakaratne Dilshan top the overall list with five ducks each. Afridi played 34 T20 World Cup matches while Dilshan featured in 35.

Ahead of the match, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had a simple piece of advice for Abhishek to end the drought: take the first single.

"My unsolicited advice to Abhishek Sharma is: just knock a single first. That's it. Then you can start banging after that. But just knock a single, take a quick single where your legs move quickly, and then go on," he told Sports Today.

Gavaskar added: "It is the confidence that one has in oneself. He got a hundred against New Zealand. He is in form and in good touch, and he is cashing in on that. What is important is that he is not taking good form for granted. A lot of batters do that and look to go bang-bang. You can go out of your territory once you are set, and that is exactly what we have seen from him."

Opting to bat, India were hoping for Abhishek Sharma's return to form ahead of the Super 8 stage, but the left-hander had to endure his third consecutive duck of the tournament. In the form of his life not too long ago, he is yet to open his account in his maiden ICC event.

The off-spin of Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus, Usman Qadir, and Saim Ayub had troubled the Indians in previous league games. On Wednesday, it was the turn of Indian-origin off-spinner Aryan Dutt to shine against a star-studded home team at the world's largest cricket stadium.

On the eve of the match, the Indian batters focused on their game against the spinners in the nets, but going forward, they still have work to do.

While Dutt was the standout bowler, the variations employed by the Netherlands pacers also tested the Indians

Click here to read article