LONDON, June 5: For Sachin Tendulkar, Friday proved a statistical nightmare as the law of averages finally caught up with him, reports AFP.

His last three one-day innings against Australia had brought him three centuries and an extraordinary 418 runs off 389 balls.

Not even the best batsman in the world, however, can succeed every time.

At The Oval, he lasted four balls and made a duck.

He met his first ball from Glenn McGrath with a classical forward stroke. The second he looked slightly less assured as he shuffled half forward. The third beat the outside edge and the fourth brushed it before landing in the wicket-keeper's gloves.

Tendulkar's team-mates Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid had as wretched a time.

Right-handed Dravid scored two consecutive tons earlier in the tournament and began his innings on Friday with the hightest runs aggregate of the tournament. 369, at an average of more than 92. He made two.

Left-handed Ganguly, with 342 runs and the highest in-’ nings of the 1999 World Cup. 183 against Sri Lanka, to his name, made eight.