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Indian cricket fans have seen players score both ducks and centuries in equal numbers.
Sachin Tendulkar has no less than 100 international centuries playing for India, and Virat Kohli is the cricketer with the most centuries among active players. Funnily enough, the man with the most centuries in international cricket is also the man with the most ducks for India - Sachin Tendulkar, with 20 ducks to his name.
In this article we take a look at players with a unique record - having scored a century and a duck in the same Test match, since the turn of the century.
(Interestingly, Vinoo Mankad was the first Indian to achieve his unique feat, way back in 1948.
Note: This list is in no particular order.
1. Cheteshwar Pujara vs Australia, Melbourne, 2018
The first entrant on this list is a Test specialist. Cheteshwar Pujara is India's best active Test batsman, according to his captain Virat Kohli.
Pujara is known for applying himself at the crease and enduring long hours of batting. However, when the team requires quick runs, he might not be the man a captain trusts. In the Boxing Day Test against Australia, we saw both sides of Pujara.
In the first innings, Pujara wore down the Australian attack, building a partnership with Virat Kohli. He brought up his century with a boundary down the ground off Nathan Lyon. It took him 280 balls to reach the three-figure mark.
In the 2nd innings, India needed to get some quick runs before putting Australia in to bat. Thus, Pujara did not play his usual waiting game. He played a flick on his 2nd ball itself, and was caught at square leg for a duck.
With that, Pujara became the latest Indian to score a century and duck in a single Test match. India won the Boxing Day Test comfortably in the end. Interestingly, Pujara also achieved the same record in a game against Sri Lanka in 2015.
2. Virender Sehwag vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2010
The 3rd Test on India's tour of Sri Lanka in 2010 is widely regarded as one of the finest matches ever played between the two sides. Trailing in the 3-match series 1-0, India conceded a first innings score of 425 runs.
India needed a strong start to their innings, and Virender Sehwag did not disappoint. Although the Delhi opener scored no runs off his first seven balls, he came into his own after that, scoring three consecutive boundaries.
He reached his 50 in 44 balls, with 11 fours. Sehwag then continued his innings at a similar pace, reaching his century in 89 balls and hitting 18 boundaries in the process. Thanks to Sehwag's quickfire century, India managed to take an 11-run lead in the first innings.
In the 2nd innings, India were set 255 to chase. This time, the openers had to face Suraj Randiv's spin with the new ball, and Sehwag fell on the 3rd ball of the innings. However, the Indian team had VVS Laxman to anchor the chase and lead the team home.
Sehwag became the first Indian batsman to get a century and a duck in the same game in the 2010s.
3. Rahul Dravid vs England, Mohali, 2008
The Mohali Test between India and England was a very dull affair. Captain MS Dhoni was questioned why he declared so late, giving the bowlers a maximum of 43 overs to bowl the English batsmen out.
The reasoning that he gave did not earn much respect among the purists of the game:
There was not much wear and tear [in the pitch]. We were leading the series 1-0 and it wasn't 100 percent sure that if we put them in to chase, we'd get them out to win the series 2-0. At the same time, we saw the importance of Gauti and Yuvraj batting on in the match. We wanted them to score their centuries.
Despite the dull draw, the game did stand out for the 2nd wicket partnership between Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid. Both players scored centuries in their 314-run stand, with the former scoring 179 and the latter 136.
In the 2nd innings, however, Dravid could not repeat his heroics. He was dismissed by Stuart Broad after 18 scoreless deliveries. A delivery from the England speedster kept low and knocked out Dravid's middle stump.
4. Shikhar Dhawan vs New Zealand, Auckland, 2014
India's tour of New Zealand in 2014 brought them to Auckland for the first Test. Their decision to field first backfired comprehensively, despite having reduced the Kiwis to 30/3 at one stage. Kane Williamson's century and Brendon McCullum's double century took New Zealand to 503 at the end of the innings.
In response, India faltered big time. On the third ball of the innings, Dhawan tried to play a ball from Trent Boult to the on-side. The out-swinger took a leading edge off his bat and flew to Kane Williamson in the slips.
India were bundled out for 202, and New Zealand themselves were all-out for 105 in the 2nd innings. India had to chase 407 for victory, with two days and a session remaining in the game.
Yet again, Dhawan could have gotten out to Trent Boult by pushing a fuller ball to silly mid-off. But thankfully for him, the catch was dropped. He ended Day 3 at 49* and returned the next day to capitalize on the dropped catch.
Comically, Dhawan began celebrating a century when he hit a six off Ish Sodhi over the mid-on boundary, thinking he was on 94. However, he managed to get to his century on the next ball with a cut.
Dhawan's 2nd innings century was in vain as India fell short of the target by 40 runs at Auckland.
5. Virat Kohli vs Sri Lanka, Eden Gardens, 2017
Only 11 overs of play were possible in the 1st Test at the Eden Gardens on Day 1 due to rain, but Suranga Lakmal's spell wrecked the Indian top order.
Lakmal conceded no runs on the first day, and got three prized scalps, with the Indian captain Virat Kohli being the most notable wicket. Lakmal got Kohli LBW with a ball pitching a whisker outside off-stump and angling in.
Kohli reviewed, and DRS showed that the ball was doing enough to stay with the on-field call. It was Kohli's first duck in a game at the Eden Gardens.
He returned in the 2nd innings after India had started strongly. However, India lost wickets in a hurry after he arrived at the crease. Pujara, Rahane and Jadeja all disappeared quickly, but Kohli had his feet firmly on the crease. He shimmed down the wicket and flicked a ball off his pads to bring up his 50.
Soon after that, Ashwin's stumps were cleaned up. Wriddhiman Saha departed quickly too, but Kohli still didn't give in. He survived an LBW which umpire Joel Wilson gave out, but Kohli's review showed an inside edge.
Kohli reached his 100 in grand fashion, dancing down the track to hit Lakmal over the extra-cover boundary for a six. This was his first Test century at Eden Gardens, and it came with his team having lost 6 wickets at the other end since his arrival at the crease.
6. Sachin Tendulkar vs West Indies, Port of Spain, 2002
Sachin Tendulkar is the player with the most centuries for India, as well as the most ducks. It was only fitting that he was the first person to achieve this feat this century.
Tendulkar achieved this record in the Trinidad Test in 2002.
Coming to the crease at 38-2, he got settled easily, and played a free-flowing innings - with a lot of runs coming in the point and extra cover regions. Tendulkar brought up his century with a cut towards point, which allowed him to complete a couple of runs.
India posted 339 on the board, and bowled West Indies out for 245. In their 2nd innings, India were two down for 54 when Tendulkar joined Dravid.
Soon after that it was 3/54, and Sourav Ganguly joined Tendulkar.
This time, Tendulkar couldn't trouble the scorers much, as he fell to Adam Sanford on his fourth ball. Sanford bowled a shortish ball outside off-stump that hit Tendulkar above the knees, and the umpire adjudged it out.
Although it seemed like both height and direction were in question, the umpire had given it out, and no DRS was available in those days. Sanford jumped in joy with both hands up, showing how much the dismissal meant to him.
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