5 Indian Cricketers who scored a duck in their first ODI but became legends

Morning shows the day is an idiom which isn’t always applicable in sports. This is because every sport allows its players to make a comeback. While someone don’t start well but redeem themselves, some get off to resounding starts but dip in the future.

On that note, let us a look at five Indian cricketers who were out for a duck in their ODI debut but went on to become legends.

5 Indian cricketers who scored a duck in their first ODI but became legends:

 VVS Laxman

VVS Laxman made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe on April 9, 1998. He batted at No. 3 and was out for nought off the third ball he faced as Pommie Mbangwa got him out LBW in the fourth over at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

Laxman, however, did not let the blip affect him. He did not get too many opportunities to play ODI cricket as he was considered a red-ball specialist.

 However, the right-handed batter finished with 2338 runs from 83 innings in ODI cricket at an average of 30.76. Laxman registered 10 fifties and six centuries in the 50-over format. He loved batting against Australia,  amassing four centuries in 19 innings against the Men in Yellow. In Tests, the Hyderabad batter aggregated 8781 runs from 134 matches at an average of 45.97.

Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina debuted in ODI cricket against Sri Lanka at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium on July 30, 2005. He was out for a golden duck, as Muttiah Muralitharan dismissed him LBW.

Raina played all three formats of the game for India. He finished with 768, 5616, and 1604 runs from 18 Tests, 226 ODIs, and 78 T20Is, respectively. The southpaw was the first centurion for India in T20I cricket. He notched up 48 fifties and seven centuries in international cricket and also picked up 62 wickets.

Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan is one of the finest opening batters to have represented India in ODI cricket. However, he did not have the best of starts, being cleaned up by Clint McKay for a two-ball duck on his international debut in Visakhapatnam against Australia in an ODI clash on October 20, 2010.

Dhawan went on to lead India in the white-ball formats. He played 34 Tests, 167 ODIs, and 68 T20Is, scoring 2315, 6793, and 1759 runs, respectively. The Delhi batter also scored a majestic 187 off 174 balls on his Test debut. He finished with an average of 40.61 in Tests, 44.11 in ODIs, and 27.92 in T20Is.

MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni is one of the most decorated captains that world cricket has ever seen. Under his leadership, India won the T20 World Cup in 2007, the ODI World Cup in 2011, and the Champions Trophy in 2013. However, Dhoni’s beginning in the international format was a disaster as he was run out after facing just one delivery following a mix-up with Mohammad Kaif. This was an ODI clash at Chattogram against Bangladesh, which was played on December 23. 2004.

Dhoni, however, made the setback a stepping stone to success. He eventually finished with 4876, 10773, and 1617 runs in 90 Tests, 350 ODIs, and 98 T20Is, respectively. No other Indian wicketkeeper-batter has scored more runs than Dhoni in international cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar is arguably the greatest batter to have ever played the game. He made his Test debut in November 1989 and scored 15 runs against Pakistan. On December 18, 1989, Tendulkar made his ODI debut, once again against Pakistan in Gujranwala, and was dismissed by Waqar Younis for a two-ball duck.

However, Tendulkar smashed one record after the other during his illustrious career and eventually retired with the most runs and centuries in Tests as well as ODIs. Tendulkar scored more than 34000 runs and picked up 200 wickets in the two formats combined. The Master Blaster also played a T20I in which he scored 10 runs and bagged a wicket.