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No batter likes to be dismissed for a duck. Every time he goes out to bat, he wants to score as many runs as possible. However, given the fast-paced nature of T20 cricket, a lot of batters end up walking back without any runs against their names.
Looking at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, there have been a number of ducks registered from players across the 10 franchises. Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) bowling all-rounder Sunil Narine tops the unwanted list with three 0s from seven innings.
Phil Salt, Mitchell Marsh, Prithvi Shaw (all DC), Shardul Thakur (KKR), Dinesh Karthik (RCB), Jos Buttler (RR), and Kyle Mayers (LSG) are among the batters who have been dismissed without scoring twice.
While batting captains are expected to lead from the front with the willow, there are times when they too fail to get off the mark. In his feature, we analyze the ‘duck tales’ of IPL 2023 captains.
Which IPL 2023 captains are yet to be dismissed for a duck?
Hardik Pandya (GT), Shikhar Dhawan (PBKS), Faf du Plessis (RCB), MS Dhoni (CSK), Nitish Rana (KKR), and KL Rahul (LSG) are yet to be dismissed without scoring in IPL 2023.
Hardik has scored 213 runs in eight matches at an average of 30.43, with a lowest score of 5 against Delhi. Dhawan has featured in seven matches, scoring 292 runs at an average of 58.40. His lowest score in IPL 2023 is 1 against LSG.
RCB’s Du Plessis has not played in all matches as captain due to injury issues. But irrespective of whether he has been a leader or not, the South African batter does not have a single duck to his name. In nine matches, he has hammered 466 runs, averaging 58.25 at an impressive strike of 159.59, with five half-centuries. (Virat Kohli led RCB in three of their nine matches as Du Plessis played as a batter.)
CSK’s Dhoni has scored 74 runs in nine games, coming into bat at the death. He has faced 35 deliveries and has scored his runs at a strike rate of 211.43. As for Kolkata’s Nitish Rana, he has hammered 233 runs in nine games at a strike rate of 152.29. His lowest score in IPL 2023 is 1 against RCB.
LSG skipper KL Rahul batted at No.11 against Bangalore due to a hamstring injury. He returned unbeaten on 0, having faced three balls. He has scored 274 runs in nine games but is unlikely to take any further part in IPL 2023.
How many captains have registered one duck in IPL 2023?
RCB’s Virat Kohli, MI’s Rohit Sharma, SRH’s Aiden Markram, and DC’s David Warner have registered one duck each in IPL 2023. Kohli led Bangalore in a match against the Rajasthan Royals in Bengaluru.
RR inserted RCB into bat first after winning the toss. Bangalore got off to the worst possible start as Kohli, who was leading the team instead of Du Plessis, was trapped leg before for a golden duck by Trent Boult.
MI skipper Rohit also registered a duck in his team’s most recent encounter against PBKS in Mohali. The Mumbai captain tried to reach out for a delivery outside off stump after backing away and only managed to give a simple catch to deep third man off Rishi Dhawan’s bowling.
SRH captain Markram perished without scoring in his first match of IPL 2023. He was knocked over for a golden duck in a game against LSG. Left-arm spinner Krunal Pandya got a delivery to spin away after pitching and beat Markram’s attempted drive.
DC skipper Warner has not had a memorable IPL 2023. Though he has been among the runs, most of them have not come in a convincing fashion. He was bowled for a second-ball duck against SRH, dragging a good length delivery from Bhuvneshwar Kumar back on his stumps.
IPL 2023 captain with the most ducks
Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson has scored the most ducks as captain in IPL 2023 so far - two. He was, in fact, dismissed without scoring in back-to-back matches.
In the game against DC in Guwahati, he miscued a big hit off Kuldeep Yadav and was caught well inside the rope at long-on.
In RR’s next match against CSK, he was cleaned up by a ripper from left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja that pitched around off and middle and straightened. Samson was back in the dugout for a second-ball duck.
