10 times both ODI openers scored a duck but the team still won
Well begun is half done. This age-old proverb holds true in every walk of life and cricket is no different.
A good start helps the side gain a distinct advantage over the opposition and goes a long way in deciding the outcome of the match.
Toss plays a crucial role in all formats of the game and the ODI format is one which allows the opposition very little time to make a comeback once they are on the backfoot.
Be it bowling or batting, it is essential to make a good start to proceedings, else there could be very little time for the team to recover. A look at results since the first ever ODI international was played between England and Australia at the MCG in 1971 proves that point.
In terms of batting, there have been 41 instances where both the team's openers have been dismissed without scoring. Only on ten such occasions has that team managed to claw their way back into the contest odds and stage a brilliant comeback to win the match.
Let's have a look at all of these matches in detail.
#1 India vs Zimbabwe, 20th Match, 1983 ODI World Cup
Players dismissed: Sunil Gavaskar and Krishnamachari Srikanth
Match Summary: India 266/8 (60 overs) defeated Zimbabwe 235 all out (57 overs) by 31 runs
The first instance of a team winning a match despite losing both their openers for a duck happened during the 1983 ODI World Cup when India defeated Zimbabwe in a group stage encounter that long lives in the memories of cricket fanatics for Kapil Dev's majestic match-winning knock of 175.
India lost both their openers - Sunil Gavaskar and Krishanmachari Srikanth - without scoring and was staring at an embarrassing defeat being reduced to 17/5 before the Indian skipper played one of the most defining knocks in World Cup history.
Dev's unbeaten knock helped India 266/8 in their 60 overs and a disciplined bowling performance by India saw them emerge victorious by 31 runs en route lifting the World Cup title defeating hot-favourites West Indies in the final.