ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s opening batter, Hassan Nawaz, who fell on a duck on his T20I debut against New Zealand, stumbled to a second consecutive duck on Tuesday in Dunedin to become the sixth player to score a duck in his first two T20I innings.
Nawaz, among the fresh faces in Pakistan’s touring squad, took to the international stage for the first time on Sunday.
In the T20I clash at Christchurch, he was one of three debutants, but his debut was far from memorable as he was dismissed for a two-ball duck by Jacob Duffy.
The Pakistan team struggled throughout the match, collapsing for just 91 runs, marking a continuation of their dismal performance in the format, with their last victory against a higher-ranked team dating back to 2022.
Their woes persisted in the second match as well, where they could only muster 135 runs for 9 wickets in a rain-affected game that was reduced to 15 overs.
Nawaz departed for a duck yet again, failing to play the extra bounce from Duffy in the first over. He became just the sixth player from a full-member country to be dismissed for two straight ducks in his first two T20I innings.
Nawaz is also the second Pakistani player to the unwanted record. Arshad Iqbal, who made his T20I debut in 2021, was sent back for no score on his debut against Bangladesh.
He repeated the score in the Asian Games against Hong Kong two years later, also his second T20I, falling for golden ducks on both occasions.
Pakistan failed to defend the target, allowing New Zealand to chase down the total with 11 balls to spare.
Before Nawaz, players who have achieved this notable ‘Distinction’ include Matthew Sinclair from New Zealand, Joe Denly from England, Imrul Kayes of Bangladesh, Zimbabwe’s Kyle Jarvis, Arshad Iqbal from Pakistan and now Hasan Nawaz is set to join this distinguished list with his performances against New Zealand in 2025.
