Players with 6000+ Test runs who were dismissed for a duck in final Test innings
There have been many players in Test cricket history who have showcased consistent and outstanding performances on the 22 yards. However, there have also been a few batters who have enjoyed a brilliant Test career, but just could not finish on a high having failed to trouble the scorers in their final innings.
1. Don Bradman vs England, 1948 (6996)
Sir Donald Bradman is arguably the best batter to have played the game and he ended his successful Test career with a plethora of records to his name. However, fate was cruel to him in his final outing against arch-rivals England during the Oval Test of 1948. He was dismissed for a silver duck by Eric Hollies which not only deprived him from surpassing 7000 runs in Test cricket but also denied him to be the first player to average 100.
2. Sourav Ganguly vs Australia, 2008 (7212)
Sourav Ganguly’s Test debut got off to a dream start when he scored an outstanding century against England at Lord’s in June 1996, but his swansong against Australia at Nagpur in November 2008 turned out to be a forgettable one. While Ganguly had scored 85 in the first innings, he was dismissed for a golden duck by Jason Krejza in the second.
3. Shivnarine Chanderpaul vs England, 2015 (11867)
Shivnarine Chanderpaul is one of the most underrated batters in West Indies cricket history and also one of the fewest to amass over 10000 Test runs. However, the southpaw failed to enjoy his final hurrah when he was dismissed without troubling the scorers during the Bridgetown Test against England in 2015.
4. Ian Bell vs Pakistan, 2015 (7727)
Former England batter Ian Bell had played many a match-winning knocks in 2000s and was also an impressive Test player, having amassed over 7000 runs in his glorious career. Nonetheless, Bell failed to end his career on a high after his furniture was disturbed during the Three Lions’ away Test against Pakistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in 2015.
5. Azhar Ali vs England, 2022 (7142)
Azhar Ali is arguably Pakistan’s best Test batter of this era and a few years back he decided to retire from white-ball cricket to focus on prolonging his red-ball career. He even has a triple century to his name in this format. Unfortunately for Azhar, his final innings turned out to be a forgettable one as he walked back without troubling the scorers. His farewell match was spoiled as Pakistan not only suffered a humiliating eight-wicket loss but were also whitewashed in the three-match series.