Joe Root equals Virat Kohli's shambolic record with duck in AUS vs ENG 1st Ashes Test

Joe Root departed for a duck [Source: AFP]

England's legendary batter Joe Root had the worst possible start to the Ashes 2025-26, registering a duck in the first innings. Coming at number four, the English great perished for a seven-ball duck, adding an unwanted record to his name. 

Most ducks vs Australia: Joe Root joins Virat Kohli

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, England had a disastrous start to their innings, losing opener Zak Crawley in the very first over. Ben Duckett was trapped LBW by Mitchell Starc before Root joined Ollie Pope in the middle. 

While Pope looked confident during his 58-ball 46, Root was under the pump right from the beginning. Australia's disciplined bowling finally induced a false shot of Root's bat, as Starc dismissed the talismanic cricketer for a duck in the ninth over. 

This was Root's ninth duck against Australia in international cricket. Thus, he equalled Virat Kohli on the list of cricketers with the most scores of zero against the Aussies across formats. 

Batters with most ducks against Australia in international cricket

• Courtney Walsh - 16
• Ishant Sharma - 13
• Curtly Ambrose- 12
• Ian Botham - 12
• James Anderson - 11
• Mark Boucher - 11
• Darren Gough - 11
• Daniel Vettori - 11
• Wasim Bari - 11
• Jimmy Adams - 10
• Stuart Broad - 10
• Jasprit Bumrah - 10
• Harbhajan Singh - 10
• Sanath Jayasuriya - 10
• Virat Kohli - 9
• Joe Root - 9*

After Root's dismissal, Harry Brook struck a breezy fifty ensured England breached the 150-run mark in the first Ashes Test. Apart from Brook, Jamie Smith was the only English batter who gave a fight to the Aussies at Perth Stadium. As of writing, England were reeling at 172 for eight, with Smith and Archer batting on 33* and 0*, respectively. 

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