 "Who is Ben Duckett? First English opener after Cook to hit century in India")
Ben Duckett became the first English opener after great sir Alastair Cook to hit a century on Indian soil in Tests as he smashed the Indian bowlers all over the park at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, formerly known as Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, in Rajkot on Friday, February 16, during the third Test of the five-match series.
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Duckett, who has been in attacking mode through all five innings, could not cross the fifty-run mark in the first two Tests. However, in the third one, the left-handed batter did not let his start go begging as he smashed fifty in just 39 balls.
Even after losing his opening partner Crawley at the other end, who became R Ashwin’s 500th Test scalp, Duckett continued to pressure the Indian spinners with sweeps and reverse ones.
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| England openers who hit Test century in 21st century in India | |||
| Player | Score | Year | Venue |
| Ben Duckett | 128 and counting | 2024 | Rajkot |
| Alaister Cook | 130 | 2016 | Rajkot |
| Andrew Strauss | 123 & 108 | 2008 | Chennai |
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The 29-year-old, who has played for Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire in County cricket and has been one of the poster boys of the change brought in by Bazball, smashed only his third ton in Test cricket.
Striking below 50 in the pre-Bazball era, Duckett revamped his batting completely, adapting to the regime change in England’s red-ball cricket and hitting at a strike rate of 85 in Tests now. His strike rate in the Bazball era has been near a hundred, as he reached his hundred in less than run-a-ball.
To bring up his hundred with a perfect straight drive was, in a way, the culmination of the thinking that Bazball stands for–play your shots, not in a rash, but without the fear of losing your wicket.
Duckett has hit all of his three centuries during Bazball and he averages more than 50. Before this innings at Rajkot, his average in 25 innings in the Bazball era was 49.86 while his strike rate since 2022 in Tests has been beyond 90, far better than his strike rate of 57 in 2016, the only other year when he played Test cricket.
Ben Duckett. Photo: Sportzpics for BCCI
Duckett has hit all of his three centuries during Bazball and he averages more than 50. Before this innings at Rajkot, his average in 25 innings in the Bazball era was 49.86 while his strike rate since 2022 in Tests has been beyond 90, far better than his strike rate of 57 in 2016, the only other year when he played Test cricket.
| Ben Duckett career stats | |||||||
| Span | Mat | Runs | HS | Bat Av | 100 | Catches | |
| Overall | 2016-2024 | 18 | 1382 | 182 | 46.06 | 3 | 16 |
| Away from home | 2016-2024 | 12 | 879 | 130* | 43.95 | 2 | 7 |
Fastest English batter to score a century in India
With his 88-ball century, Duckett became the fastest English batter to score a Test century against India in India. Australian legend Adam Gilchrist is the fastest to reach the 100-run mark in India. He created the record in the 2001 Mumbai Test at Wankhede Stadium. The second on the list is the West Indian great Clive Llyod, followed by Duckett.
| Fastest Test 100s vs India in India (balls faced) | |||
| Player | Balls faced | Venue | Year |
| Adam Gilchrist | 84 | Mumbai (Wankhede Stadium) | 2001 |
| Clive Llyod | 85 | Bengaluru | 1974 |
| Ben Duckett | 88 | Rajkot | 2024 |
| Ross Taylor | 99 | Bengaluru | 2012 |
| Fastest Test 100s for England away from home (balls faced) | ||||
| Player | Balls faced | Opposition | Venue | Year |
| Harry Brook | 80 | Pakistan | Rawalpindi | 2022 |
| Zak Crawley | 86 | Pakistan | Rawalpindi | 2022 |
| Kevin Pieterson | 88 | West Indies | Port of Spain | 2009 |
| Ben Duckett | 88 | India | Rajkot | 2024 |
| Ollie Pope | 90 | Pakistan | Rawalpindi | 2022 |