Wednesday’s T20 World Cup 2026 group finale in Ahmedabad saw India triumph by 17 runs over Netherlands at Narendra Modi Stadium. Amid celebrations, Abhishek Sharma’s fourth failure – his third straight duck – stole the headlines, matching Washington Sundar’s infamous streak.
Pre-tournament buzz positioned Abhishek as India’s batting hope. Reality bit hard: first-ball out to USA, illness-kept Namibia bye, Pakistan four-ball duck, Netherlands three-ball end. Tournament batting average: 0.
In T20I annals, only Sundar preceded him among Indians for three successive zeros. Shanaka’s 16 ducks is the pinnacle of pain; Rohit’s 12 anchors India’s list, Samson at seven.
India’s win masked deeper concerns. Abhishek’s collapse underscores top-order fragility. Psychologists point to white-ball jitters; technicians scrutinize stance flaws. Whatever the cause, time is short.
Rohit, duck connoisseur, leads by example in recovery. Young guns like Abhishek need similar resilience. Victory buys time, but super sixes demand consistency. Can India fix this before it unravels their campaign? The stakes couldn’t be higher.