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Abdullah Shafique failed to open his account in all three ODIs against South Africa, which were played in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg on December 17, 19, and 22, respectively.
Abdullah Shafique becomes the first player to not score a single run in an ODI series. (Picture Credit: AP)
Pakistan’s opening batter Abdullah Shafique created an embarrassing record on Sunday, December 22, by becoming the first batter in history to not score a single run in an ODI series. Shafique opened for Pakistan in all three matches of the recently concluded ODI series against South Africa, but he failed to open his account in all three matches.
The right-handed batter scored a four-ball duck in the series opener played at Boland Park in Paarl on December 17 and was caught behind by Heinrich Klaasen for two-ball naught off Marco Jansen’s bowling in the second match, which was played at Newlands in Cape Town on December 19.
Despite scoring two ducks in two matches, Shafique managed to retain his place in the playing XI for the third match, but in that as well he wasn’t able to get off the mark. The 25-year-old right-handed batter was dismissed for a golden duck by Kagiso Rabada at The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday.
The duck on Sunday was the seventh time in 2024 that the right-handed batter failed to open his account for the Men in Green, and it ensured that he became the first Pakistani opener to score seven ducks in a calendar year. The right-handed batter from Sialkot surpassed the previous tally of Imran Nazir and Mohammed Hafeez.
The left-handed batter Nazir failed to open his account six times across 32 innings in 2000, and Hafeez got out for zero six times in 2012.
The world record for scoring the most ducks in a calendar year by an opening batter is eight, which is held by former South Africa batter Herschelle Gibbs and Sri Lanka’s Tillakaratne Dilshan. While Gibbs achieved the feat in 2002, Dilshan joined him in the unwanted list in 2012.
Despite Shafique’s poor show with the bat, Pakistan managed to get the better of South Africa in all three matches, and it also helped them become the first team in history to whitewash South Africa in a bilateral ODI series played in South Africa.
For the 1992 World Cup winners, left-handed opening batter Saim Ayub scored two centuries in three matches, and with a total of 235 runs to his name, he finished as the second leading run scorer in the series.
