The most ducks achieved by a team in a single innings is merely six! Moreover, India has now earned a place in the record book for the second time, as they have registered themselves among the teams with the most ducks in an innings. During the ongoing Test match between India and South Africa, six Indian batsmen were dismissed without scoring a single run.
Ducks in cricket refer to when a cricketer is dismissed without scoring any runs. This term is derived from the phrase “Duck’s egg” and was first used in a newspaper in 1866.
. Since then, the term “duck” has become widely used to describe a batsman being dismissed for zero runs.
Among all recognized batsmen, Sanath Jayasuriya holds the record for the most number of ducks. The former Sri Lankan opener was dismissed for zero runs on 53 occasions.
But it is quite rare for multiple batsmen from the same team to get dismissed for a duck in a single innings. Only 8 instances have occurred in Test matches where six players from the same team were dismissed for a duck.
Let’s see the most ducks in an innings of a team in Test.
1. Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka
Bangladesh occupies the top position in the list of teams with the most ducks. They repeated the record for most ducks in an innings for three times. But Bangladesh was the only team in this list to score 350+ in one occasion despite having most ducks in one innings.
During the second test match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at Mirpur on May 23rd, 2022, six batsmen from the Bangladesh team were dismissed for zero runs. Kusun Rajitha and Asitha Fernando, two fast bowlers from Sri Lanka, eliminated six Bangladeshi batsmen without scoring any runs.
The contributions of Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahman allowed Bangladesh to reach a total of 365 runs. Even Shakib Al Hasan, who is considered the greatest cricketer in the history of Bangladesh, was among the unfortunate six batsmen.
2. India vs South Africa
The Indian team is widely renowned for its strong batting lineup. However, most of the batsmen were inexperienced about South Africn pitch and weather. That leads to the most ducks in an Innings for Team India.
In the ongoing second test match between India and South Africa, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, Shreyas Iyar, Jaspreet Bumrah, Muhammad Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna all returned to the pavilion without scoring any runs. Virat Kohli’s contribution of 46 runs helped the team reach a total of 153 runs. Though India won the match with help of his stronger bowling side.
3. India vs England
India finds itself in the list once again. In 2014, during a match against England, the Indian team could only manage to score 152 runs. Six batsmen, including Virat Kohli, were dismissed with ducks.
It was the first time in the history of Indian cricket that six batsmen were dismissed for zero runs. India entered in the list of most ducks in an Innings with this dismal performances of his batting line up.Ravindra Jadeja is the only batsman who has been dismissed for zero against both England in 2014 and South Africa in 2024.
On that day, Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s innings of 71 runs saved India from complete embarrassment. India could manage only 152 runs.Stuart Broad, with his exceptional bowling performance, took six wickets.
4. Pakistan vs West Indies
There exists another Asian Team within this enumeration. The West Indies team, under the captaincy of Clive Lloyd, proved to be invincible during the 1980s. Malcolm Marshal, Collin Croft, Joel Garner, and Sylvester Clarke dismissed six Pakistani Batsmen for a duck. Pakistan team scored only 128.
However, Pakistan was the sole team within this list that did not suffer a loss in the match, despite this setback. But they were the first Asian Country to have most ducks in an innings of a Test Match.They somehow managed to salvage a draw, even though they found themselves among the teams with the most ducks in an Innings.
5. South Africa vs India
Javagal Srinath’s enchanting performance decimated the South African batting lineup, restricting them to a mere 105 runs in the second innings of the first test between India and South Africa in 1996.
Six South African Batsmen, including Daryl Cullinan and Johnty Rhodes, were dismissed without contributing a single run. This marked the second instance in history where six Batsmen from the same team were dismissed for a duck. With they touched the record of Pakistan team of having most ducks in an Innings.
6. Bangladesh vs West Indies
In the inaugural test between Bangladesh and West Indies in North Sound in 2022, the Bangladeshi team encountered the loss of six Batsmen who were unable to register a single run. Six Batsmen’s duck stopped Bangladesh innings at 103.
Despite the West Indies bowling side not being as formidable as their menacing bowling force from the 1980s, the Bangladeshi Batsmen failed to put up a fight on Caribbean soil.
7. New Zealand vs Pakistan
New Zealand is the sole non-Asian country, apart from South Africa, that features in this list. This occurred in 2018 when Pakistani Leg Spinner Yasir Shah exhibited his prowess during the first innings.
Not a single Batsman from New Zealand was able to contend with Yasir Shah’s lethal Leg Spin. The New Zealand could score only 90 runs.
8. Bangladesh vs West Indies
Bangladesh holds the record for the highest number of ducks in an innings. The Right Arm Fast Bowler Jermaine Lawson claimed six wickets in that particular test.
In the first test in Dhaka in 2002, six Bangladeshi Batsmen were dismissed without adding any runs to the scoreboard in the second innings. Bangladesh team could manage only 87 runs.
The Teams not in the Most Ducks in an Innings
England, Australia, West Indies and even Sri Lanka are excluded from the aforementioned enumeration. Furthermore, the formidable West Indian pace brigade possesses the capacity to thoroughly embarrass their adversaries on a solitary occasion.
. Surprisingly New Zealand innings came to an end at 26 against England in the second test on 1955. But only Four New Zealand Batsmen got out of ducks.
