7 instances of both openers scoring ducks in an IPL match

In cricket, whenever a player steps on to the field, whatever he has done in the past ceases to count. Every time a batsman takes guard to face the first ball, he fills jitters until he gets off the mark and has his feet and the scoreboard up and running.

A walk back to the pavilion without any runs against one’s name is the worst feeling for any batsman. In case he is the designated opener of his team, his failure means a horrific start to the team’s performance.

Imagine how much pressure a team would come under if both it’s openers fail to score runs and make the long walk back without troubling the scorers.

Here is an account of the seven times such an instance has occurred in the IPL.

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#1 Parthiv Patel and Stephen Fleming (Chennai Super Kings)

Patel and Fleming were both victims of IPL's only 6 wicket haul bowling performance

The first such instance occurred on the 4th of May in the inaugural edition of IPL in 2008. CSK skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bat in an away game against Rajasthan Royals.

Opening the batting for CSK was the left-handed duo of wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel and Stephen Fleming.

Royals pacer Sohail Tanvir bowled the first ball of the match, a sharp inswinging delivery, to Patel who was trapped right in front of the stumps.

Off the fifth ball of the same over, Tanvir’s guile accounted for the wicket of Fleming, who’s big stride forward was of no use as the umpire raised his finger to what could be called an unlucky decision for the former Kiwi captain.

Man of the Match Tanvir, who went on to win the Purple Cap that season, bowled a dream spell as his figures read 4-0-14-6, the best in the history of the league till date.

His efforts meant that CSK were scuttled out for a paltry 109 which Rajasthan cruised past for a comfortable victory by eight wickets and 34 balls to spare.

#2 Graeme Smith and Swapnil Asnodkar (Rajasthan Royals)

The left hand-right hand combination of Smith and Asnodkar was not as effective as it was thought to be

On May 2nd 2009, in a match against Deccan Chargers being played at Port Elizabeth, Rajasthan’s opening pair of Goan batsman Swapnil Asnodkar and then South African skipper Graeme Smith came out in reply to Charger’s total of 141.

Windies pacer Fidel Edwards opened the bowling for the Gilchrist led Chargers and it took him only a couple of balls to get a breakthrough.

Smith played an uppercut to a delivery pitched short and outside off, and being uppish it was cleanly taken by the fielder running in from third man.

The batsman crossed over and Asnodkar played the next ball with soft hands in the direction of Herschelle Gibbs fielding at point.

Lee Carseldine called for a single from the non-striker's end to which the right-handed opener was late to react to, thus leading him to be run out by the teamwork of Gibbs and RP Singh.

However, lower order contributions from skipper Shane Warne (21), Abhishek Raut (36* off 23 balls) and Yusuf Pathan (24) helped Rajasthan cross the winning line with just two balls to spare making them the only team to win from a precarious position of losing both their openers for ducks.

#3 Adam Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs (Deccan Chargers)

To have Gilchrist and Gibbs open the batting would have been any team owner's delight

After being at the inflicting end just a couple of days ago, Deccan Chargers found themselves at the receiving end against CSK on May 4th, 2009 in Buffalo Park, East London.

Having won the toss and batted first, MS Dhoni’s unbeaten 52 took his team’s total to an above par 178.

To have been able to chase down such a total, the Chargers needed a solid opening stand and they had all their hopes resting on the shoulders of their explosive pair of captain Gilchrist and Gibbs.

Albie Morkel, who opened the attack for CSK, bowled a full length ball to Gilchrist who was struck on his back leg, a result of a failed attempt to whack the ball through mid-wicket.

With the right-hander bowling over the wicket to the southpaw, the umpire did not have much to ponder over before raising the deadly finger as the Charger’s skipper went for a golden duck.

Morkel ended the over as a wicket maiden and Sudeep Tyagi shared the new ball from the other end.

On just his second legal delivery, Gibbs, much like his captain, tried to stroke a full-length delivery on middle stump through the mid-wicket region, only to miss it completely before the ball ricocheted on to the stumps off his pads.

With two of their batting mainstays headed to the pavilion, victory would have always remained an improbable task for the eventual winners of IPL 2009; and so it proved to be as they bundled out for a mere hundred runs in less than 15 overs, thus losing the match by a hefty margin of 78 runs.

#4 Luke Ronchi and J P Duminy (Mumbai Indians)

The pair reunited in the Pakistan Super League

Buffalo Park in East London once again proved to be an opener’s nightmare as it experienced the next instance of a pair of openers getting out without opening their accounts. The teams involved this time were Mumbai Indians and Delhi Daredevils.

Winning the toss and choosing to bat first, Mumbai had a new opening pair which comprised of their most successful batsman that season-Jean Paul Duminy who was accompanied by Sanath Jayasuriya's replacement Luke Ronchi. Dirk Nannes opened the bowling for the Gambhir-led Delhi team.

Ronchi played the second ball of the innings with soft hands towards David Warner at short cover and set off for a quick but unlikely single.

The excellent fielder that Warner is, his direct hit at the non-striker’s end found Ronchi short of his crease and thus he had to continue running towards the pavilion for a nought.

After playing three dot balls off Nannes, two of which beat him, Duminy decided to fish at a ball well outside his off stump.

The slight away movement on the new ball induced the outside edge as Dinesh Karthik completed an easy catch behind the stumps and Mumbai were left tottering at 1-2, making it the third instance inside one week for both openers scoring ducks in IPL.

The Indians were not able to recover from the jolts at the top of the order as they only managed a below-par total of 116 in their 20 overs, chasing which Delhi lost just three wickets for a morale-boosting victory.

#5 Gautam Gambhir and David Warner (Delhi Daredevils)

The dynamic left-handed duo could not help Delhi go past the semis in 2009

In the first semi-final of IPL 2009, Gilchrist won the toss and his decision of putting Delhi in raised a few eyebrows.

Delhi were on a stellar run leading into the knockout phase while the Chargers had just managed their way into the semis.

Gilchrist’s compatriot Ryan Harris opened the bowling. After being kept silent for four balls in a row, Gautam Gambhir made room and danced down the track in an attempt to hit the ball above the inner ring fielders on the off side, a shot he plays so well.

However, the wily Harris saw him coming down the track and bowled it wider, which made him slice the ball in the air and the catching was done by RP Singh at third man.

The batsman crossed over and Warner was on strike to face the last ball of Harris’ first over. Bowling another widish delivery outside off stump, Harris invoked the uppish drive from Warner too, this time the catcher being Gibbs at point.

With two in two and Dehi yet to get off the mark, Harris had not just justified his skipper’s decision of bowling first, but had also ensured that the only instance of both openers scoring ducks in an IPL knockout match was enough for his team to enter into the finals.

Delhi managed only 153 as Deccan Chargers hearted their way into the finals on the back of a scintillating 35 ball 85 from the blade of their captain.

#6 Brendon McCullum and VVS Laxman (KTK)

McCullum and Laxman: two complete opposites

In what was the debut season for both franchises, Kochi Tuskers Kerala took on Pune Warriors India in the 10th match of IPL 2011 at Mumbai. Kochi captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and elected to bat first.

Alfonso Thomas opened the bowling and facing him was devastating Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum.

The aggressive batsman could not control his instincts as he chased a delivery wide outside off stump, only to edge the ball to keeper Robin Uthappa.

With Baz gone for zero, the onus of laying a solid platform rested on the experienced shoulders of Indian veteran Laxman.

After having played a couple of dots, the wristy right-handed batsman tried to run one down towards the third man to get off the mark.

The slight inward movement on Wayne Parnell’s ball was enough to get the inside half of Laxman’s bat that led the ball to crash into the stumps.

Lower order contributions from Ravindra Jadeja (47) and Brad Hodge (39) helped Kochi reach a respectable 148 on the board.

Although Pune kept losing wickets at regular intervals, they ended up on the winning side with four wickets in hand and an over to spare.

#7 Jacques Kallis and Gautam Gambhir

Kallis and Gambhir played instrumental roles in KKR winning two championships

In the sixth match of IPL 2014 which saw it’s first leg being played out in the Middle East, KKR took on DD in Dubai.

Gambhir won the toss and decided that he would come out to open the innings with legendary all-rounder Kallis.

Mohammad Shami opened the bowling for Delhi and started off with a wide. His next ball though, was a peach as it took off from a back of a length and straightened on Kallis, who was forced to play at it.

The away moving nature of the ball induced Kallis’ edge on it’s way to the safe hands of Ross Taylor standing at slip.

Nathan Coulter-Nile was the one who partnered Shami with the new ball.

With his third ball, one which was pitched on leg stump and met Gambhir at hip-height, the Aussie pacer accounted for KKR’s captain who tried tucking the ball fine down the leg side but ended up giving a straight catch to Duminy at leg slip, placed specifically according to the plan by captain Dinesh Karthik.

With both openers and senior batsmen gone for nought, Manish Pandey and Uthappa steadied there ship as KKR ended up with 166 on the board.

This though, was not enough against the Delhi batting order as fifties from Karthik and Duminy helped them achieve victory in the last over of the match.