Hattrick is something that every bowler dreams of. After all, not everyone is destined to get one. Some great bowlers like Muralitharan and Kumble have been denied of one in their illustrious careers. Hattricks are very difficult to get in any format, but more so in test and ODI cricket. In T20s the chance of hattrick is more as batsmen need to continue playing shots despite losing wickets but same pressure is not always there in tests and ODIS.
Here”s a look at the bowlers who have taken hat-tricks in the shortest format of the game:
– by Atharva Apte
6) Faheem Ashraf
The right arm seamer from Kasur made his debut for Pakistan in June 2017. His maiden T20I came against World XI at Lahore in September 2017. Ashraf became first Pakistani bowler to take a hattrick in T20Is on October 27, 2017, against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi. His victims were Isuru Udana, Mahela Udawatte, and Dasun Shanaka. Pakistan is a country known to produce great fast bowlers like Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar etc. Never ever they lacked quality fast bowlers at any time all these years. Fahim Ashraf is another talent in current Pakistan team along with Mohammad Amir, Junaid Khan, Hasan Ali.
The king of Yorkers completed hattricks in both ODIs and T20Is on April 6, 2017, at Premadasa Stadium in Colombo against Bangladesh. He dismissed Rahim, Mortaza and Mehedi Hasan in Sri Lanka”s shock defeat against Bangladesh by 45 runs. However, Malinga bagged man of the series award. “Slinga” as he is called has 3 ODI hattricks to go with that. His first hattrick came against South Africa at Guyana on March 28, 2007. Then in 2011, he picked up 2 hattricks, one against Kenya in 2011 WC and one against Australia in August 2011.
4) Thisara Perera
The 5-year streak without a T20I hattrick was broken by the Lankan all-rounder when he picked up a hattrick against India at Ranchi on February 12, 2016. He dismissed Raina, Hardik, and Yuvraj. Sri Lanka got crushed in that game and went on to lose the series as well. His hattrick was one of the very few positives for Lankans. The last T20I hattrick before this one came in December 2010, the longest gap between 2 T20I hattricks. The Sri Lankan all-rounder was considered a gem of a talent when he burst on to the international scene in 2009. He announced his retirement from test cricket prematurely after playing just 6 tests for Sri Lanka at the age of 26 to focus on limited over formats as he was more suited for abbreviated versions of the game.
3) Tim Southee
During a period in 2010, when New Zealand was struggling to even put up a fight in any game they played, Tim Southee”s effort in a game against Pakistan boosted their morale. Southee dismissed Younis Khan, Hafeez and Umar Akmal in successive deliveries at Auckland on Boxing Day 2010. He picked up 5/18 in New Zealand”s 5-wicket win over Pakistan. Since the retirement of ace fast bowler Shane Bond, Southee has been the go-to man for New Zealand in all formats of the game. He along with Trent Boult have formed a deadly bowling duo for New Zealand. Southee and Boult on their day can destroy any batting line up.
2) Jacob Oram
The Kiwi all-rounder picked up a hattrick against Sri Lanka at Colombo on September 2, 2009. His hattrick came in New Zealand”s T20I series whitewash over Sri Lanka in 2009. His victims were Mathews, Bandara, and Kulasekara. Jacob Oram was a vital cog in New Zealand team in the mid and late 2000s. His all-around abilities made him New Zealand”s most valuable player. However, with age, his pace declined. He was last seen playing professional cricket in 2013.
1) Brett Lee
The Australian speedster and hero of the film “Unindian” became the first bowler to take a hattrick in T20 Internationals on September 16, 2007, at Newlands, Cape Town. He dismissed Shakib, Mortaza, and Kapali. His hattrick is only in the history of T20 World Cups till date. Lee along with McGrath was the deadliest pace bowling duo in the 2000s. Two very different types of bowlers, they teamed up well to give Australia great success. McGrath was more of a line and length bowler whereas Lee had extra pace. Lee retired from international cricket in 2012.
– by Atharva Apte