Getting out before opening your account can be very demoralizing for a batsman. It dents his confidence and leaves him with the feeling that he was not able to offer anything to the team’s cause. However, there have been a few cricketers who have evaded getting out on a duck in the competition for a long time. They scored plenty of runs before collecting the first duck in IPL.
In this article, we list down the five players who scored the maximum runs before they got the first duck in IPL. This really gives valuable input into the game style that was adopted by these batsmen.
1. David Miller – 1450
When he came into the scene, David Miller was a destructive batsman who could take down bowling attacks single-handedly. However, it has been a few years since he has done that. Nevertheless, at Rajasthan Royals, he could get a few chances this season, which could help him rediscover his ‘Killer’ touch.
In the 2016 edition, David Miller collected the first duck in IPL. This happened against RCB when he got out to Yuzvendra Chahal. The South African had made 1450 runs before he went back to the pavilion without scoring a run for the first time.
2. Suresh Raina – 1408
Suresh Raina has been a prolific run-scorer in the tournament. For a large part of the tournament’s history, Raina was at the top of the chart in terms of most runs scored.
So far, the CSK player has accounted for eight ducks in his IPL career. However, his first-ever duck came pretty late in the competition. The Uttar Pradesh batsman had made 1408 runs before a bowler managed to get him out on zero.
3. Dwayne Bravo – 1154
Dwayne Bravo has primarily been a bowler in IPL. Over the years, the West Indian has improved his variations and therefore, has now become a specialist death bowler. However, now and then, the player has also had to deliver a little with the bat.
The all-rounder scored 1154 runs before he collected the first duck in IPL. For a player who is fearless and mostly bats in the lower middle-order, this is definitely a notable achievement.
4. Matthew Hayden – 1076
Matthew Hayden just played 32 innings in IPL but was extremely impactful with his performances. In this short career, the Aussie could score 1107 runs at an average of 36.90.
The big-hitting left-hander collected his first duck in IPL in his 29th innings. It was the 2010 edition, and CSK was taking on KKR in that encounter. Hayden had faced one ball, and in the next delivery, he was clean bowled by Chris Gayle. This was one of his rare failures in the competition.
5. Shubman Gill – 1008
Shubman Gill has not exactly set IPL on fire so far but has surely caught the attention with a few impressive knocks. Although he was limited to a middle-order role during the initial seasons, since the start of IPL 2020, Gill plays as an opener for KKR.
It needs to be noted that Gill had not registered a duck until the game against Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2021. His team was chasing a mammoth target, and the Punjab youngster had no choice but to go hard from the first delivery. He did just that, but unfortunately, he got out in the first over itself. Thus, he got the first duck in his IPL career in this game.
