In the first T20I clash between India and Australia in Visakhapatnam, Ruturaj Gaikwad faced an unfortunate exit without even getting a chance to face a ball, marking him as the third Indian batter to earn a diamond duck in T20Is.
The incident occurred in the penultimate ball of the opening over during India’s run-chase, as Gaikwad found himself entangled in a mix-up with Yashasvi Jaiswal. Jaiswal, in an attempt to secure a second run, left Gaikwad stranded resulting in India losing their first wicket with the score at 11 in just 0.5 overs.
Gaikwad now joins the company of Amit Mishra and Jasprit Bumrah as the only Indian batters to have experienced a diamond duck in T20Is. Bumrah encountered this fate on February 9, 2016, against Sri Lanka at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune, while Mishra faced a similar dismissal in January 2017 against England at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Nagpur. Notably, a total of 21 Indian batters have suffered diamond duck dismissals in the history of Indian cricket.
The list includes cricketing names such as Bishan Singh Bedi, Roger Binny, Anshuman Gaekwad, Chetan Sharma, Venkatpathy Raju, Javagal Srinath, Abey Kuruvilla, Rajesh Chauhan, Navjot Singh Sidhu, MSK Prasad, Harbhajan Singh, Rahul Dravid, Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Umesh Yadav, among others.
As India aims to refine their lineup for the upcoming T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA), Gaikwad will be eager to stage a comeback in the second T20I. The team is in search of the right combination to enhance their performance in the crucial tournament.
