Pakistan vs South Africa: Abdullah Shafique joins Sachin Tendulkar in Unwanted List

Pakistan batter Abdullah Shafique has continued his dismal form with another poor display against South Africa in the third ODI on Sunday (December 22).

Shafique scored yet another duck on Sunday at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, which means the Pakistan opener is yet to score a run in the series after three matches.

A hat-trick of ducks for Shafique has added his name to a unique list as the 25-year-old has now become only the 2nd Pakistan player with the humbling record. Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt is the other name in the list.

Abdullah Shafique Three Ducks

In the first match, Abdullah departed for a duck in 4 balls as Marco Jansen got his wicket. The second match saw Jansen get the Pakistani opener again as he faced only 2 deliveries before edging one to Heinrich Klaasen. In the third match, he was dismissed in the first ball as Kagiso Rabada got the wicket.

Abdullah Shafique joins Sachin Tendulkar

Shafique's streak of zeroes now places him in a rare and unwanted club of openers in ODI cricket who have bagged three ducks in a row. In fact, he is only the ninth opener in the format's history to achieve this dubious feat.

While this is certainly a tough moment for the 25-year-old, Shafique now shares this record with some big names in cricket. Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar, Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, and former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming are among the notable players who have endured similar struggles at the top of the order.

Sachin Tendulkar Three Consecutive Ducks in ODIs

The great batter had his share of lean patches amid his illustrious career. In the ODIs, the master blaster had 20 ducks, but it was the year 1994 when Tendulkar scored three ducks in a row.

His first duck in that run was against Sri Lanka in at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The next two came against West Indies in Faridabad and Mumbai respectively.

Although Shafique has struggled, Pakistan have been amazing as they have already won the ODI series with an unassailable 2-0 lead. The final ODI in Johannesburg today has been rain-marred but the visitors will be hoping to end the series on a high. After this, the two teams will lock horns in a two-match Test series.