One away from Zaheer! Kohli climbs to 2nd on unwanted list after NZ horror show

Virat Kohli has climbed to second place on an unwanted list of Indian cricketers after his duck in the fourth ODI against New Zealand on Friday, moving closer to a record held by former India pacer Zaheer Khan.

Kohli's dismissal for a duck took his tally of international ducks to 42, just one behind Zaheer, who tops the list with 43. Former pacer Ishant Sharma is third with 40, followed by Harbhajan Singh and Jasprit Bumrah, who have 37 ducks each.

Most ducks by an Indian in international cricket (*Active players)

43 - Zaheer Khan 42 - Virat Kohli* 40 - Ishant Sharma 37 - Harbhajan Singh 37 - Jasprit Bumrah 36 - Rohit Sharma* 35 - Anil Kumble 34 - Sachin Tendulkar

Most ducks by an Indian in ODIs 20 - Virat Kohli* 20 - Sachin Tendulkar 19 - Javagal Srinath 18 - Rohit Sharma* 18 - Anil Kumble 18 - Yuvraj Singh 17 - Harbhajan Singh 16 - Sourav Ganguly

The latest setback came during India's disastrous chase of 334 in the fourth ODI in New Zealand. Kohli was dismissed by Matt Henry in the opening over, with the pacer breaching his defence with an incoming delivery after removing Rohit Sharma earlier in the same over. It was a devastating start for India, who lost three wickets without scoring in the opening over. Henry went on to produce a sensational six-wicket haul, finishing with figures of 6/27 as India were bundled out for just 89, suffering a 244-run defeat.

Kohli also shares the top spot on another unwanted ODI list. With 20 ducks in the 50-over format, he is level with Sachin Tendulkar for the most ducks by an Indian batter in ODIs. Javagal Srinath follows with 19, while Rohit Sharma, Anil Kumble and Yuvraj Singh have 18 each.

The defeat has left India with a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, with the fifth and final ODI scheduled to be played on Sunday. Kohli and company will be eager to bounce back and avoid another batting collapse in the series decider.