Taking a hat-trick in cricket is rare and definitely not an easy thing to do. And when it comes to Test cricket, the chances of that happening are even lower. Because mostly there is no compulsion on the batsman to score runs on every ball. When any player takes a hattrick, it is a moment of great joy and pride for the whole nation. India experienced this moment three times. Let us see the three Indian bowlers who took a hat-trick in Test cricket.
1. Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh’s hat-trick came in a test match which was historic from many angles.
Team Australia was ruthlessly dominating the Test cricket at the time and was on a record winning streak. Australia had already bagged 16 consecutive test wins, including the easy victory by 10 wickets, in the first test of the series, in Mumbai, against India
Now, Steve Waugh and his powerful army had their eyes set on the Kolkata Test and their 17th consecutive win.
In this Test, Australia won the toss and decided to bat first. They started really well. At one point they were 252/4 and looked in control.
But it was Harbhajan Singh’s hat-trick which completely changed the momentum of the match and the overall series. I feel this hat-trick ignited an indomitable spirit in the team that day.
Harbhajan Singh’s three wickets which formed the Hat-trick (in detail):
1st Wicket: Ricky Ponting – 6 runs (12 balls)
Ricky Ponting was playing on 6 runs from 11 balls, while the Australian captain Steve Waugh was at the non-striker’s end. The stadium was a full house, the fans were loud, and the atmosphere was absolutely electric!
Ponting was ready. Harbhajan Singh bowled a 96.3 kph delivery in a good length area, which pitched outside off and came straight in. Ponting went on his back foot, tried to flick to the leg side but missed it and the ball hit the pads.
Umpire raised his finger and the crowd went mad with joy, in the stands. Ricky Ponting was out Leg Before Wicket (LBW). And Australia were 252/5.
2nd Wicket: Adam Gilchrist – 0 (1 ball)
After Ponting, came Adam Gilchrist. Gilchrist took his stance, as he focussed his eyes on the bowler and then on the ball.
Harbhajan again bowled a similar delivery at 95.4 kph and again caught the batsman leg before wicket!
Gilchrist could not believe the umpire’s decision, probably he thought the ball was pitching slightly outside leg or maybe he thought he had nicked the ball before it hit the pads. But there was no DRS in those days. He was out and started walking towards the dressing room with a smile which indicated disappointment and disbelief.
The crowd was now on their feet, cheering, jumping and dancing. Indian players were hugging and smiling, while Harbhajan Singh was happy and nervous both, as now he was on a hat-trick!
3rd Wicket: Shane Warne – 0 (1 ball)
When Shane Warne came to bat, you can clearly feel the tension on his face. Fans were waving the Indian flags and some were running with the big flags near the stands boundary. Harbhajan asked for some field changes as he was preparing for the next ball. Captain Sourav Ganguly gave him his desired field setting.
Harbhajan Singh came running in and bowled the third delivery even quicker at 101.2 kph. It was a yorker-length delivery, which Shane Warne tried to bump in the ground, towards the leg side, but it hit the bat, very near the ground, and went into the right hand of Sadagopan Ramesh, who was standing near the batsman at the short-leg position.
Field umpire did not look sure and so asked the third umpire to confirm. The third umpire took his time and finally signaled red, as all the players joined in the hat-trick celebration. The crowd at this point was screaming loud and absolutely berserk with joy after seeing the hat-trick in front of their eyes! What a memorable moment for each and everyone in the stands and also for the viewers watching live on their TV sets!
Steve Waugh must have felt strangled and helpless on the other end. He was given no choice but to watch the hat-trick horror taking place in front of his eyes.
Such was the impact of this hat-trick that even though India failed to bat well in the first inning, they did not lose their hopes and the fighting spirit. When India came to bat in their second inning after getting the dreadful follow-on, VVS Laxman went on to score 281 runs and Rahul Dravid went on to score 180 runs, giving Australia a target of 384 runs to win the match.
After taking 7/123 and the hattrick in the first inning, Harbhajan Singh continued with his magical spell and took 6/73 in the second innings as well, thus helping India win this historic Test by 171 runs.
Australia’s winning streak had come to a halt and some egos were crushed. Also, this was only the third time in the history of Test cricket that a team had won, in spite of getting the follow-on. With this win, India leveled the series 1-1.
Later India went on to win the third Test in Chennai by two wickets and won the series 2-1. Harbhajan Singh was named the man of the series. He took 32 wickets in the series when no other Indian bowler managed to take more than 3 wickets.
The three wickets in the hat-trick were Harbhajan Singh’s 28th, 29th, and 30th ones of his career.
Harbhajan went on to take a total of 417 wickets in 103 matches in his Test career. He played his last test in August 2015 vs Sri Lanka.
2. Irfan Pathan
India was touring Pakistan in 2005/06 for playing three Tests and five ODIs.
The first two tests of the series in Lahore and Faisalabad were drawn. Now it was the final Test in Karachi, where fans hoped for some outcome.
First, Rahul Dravid won the toss for India and elected to bowl first. The Karachi pitch was a seam bowler’s delight. No wonder, it saw 14 wickets fall on day 1 itself.
The Test match started with a bang. Yes, it started with Irfan Pathan’s hattrick in the very first over of the match. Pathan became only the second Indian bowler to take a Hat-trick in Test Cricket.
Irfan Pathan’s three wickets which formed the Hat-trick (in detail):
1. Salman Butt – 0 (4 balls) – c Dravid b Pathan
Salman Butt must have already assessed the deadly pitch with the first three balls he played. The atmosphere was cloudy, giving additional help to the seam bowlers.
Next, Irfan Pathan bowled a medium-paced delivery of 116.9kph, which pitched in the middle stump line, in a good length area, forcing the left-handed batsman to drive. But the ball swung very sharply away from the batsman. The ball took the outside edge of Salman Butt’s bat and captain Rahul Dravid took an easy catch in the first slip position.
Pakistan was 0/1. It was a perfect start for India and Irfan Pathan was on fire!
2. Younis Khan – 0 (1 ball) – LBW b Pathan
Next came, Younis Khan, who was also the makeshift captain in this Test, as the original captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was injured.
Younis Khan took his time to take a proper stance. When Younis Khan was ready, Irfan Pathan came charging in with the ball and bowled a slightly quicker delivery with a speed of 123.4 kph. The ball pitched in outside off and swung back more than Younis Khan expected. It caught Younis Khan off balance, with his head tilted forward and the ball clearly hitting the pads.
The bowler, the slip fielders, the wicket-keeper, all appealed in unison with their hands raised and umpire Simon Taufel wasted no time in raising his finger.
Players drowned Irfan Pathan in the celebratory hugs, while Pathan was half-roaring and half-smiling, after getting the back-to-back wickets. Now he was on a hattrick and Pakistan was on 0/2. No Pakistani player wanted to see 0/3.
3. Mohammad Yousuf – 0 (1 ball) – b Pathan
Now it was time for Mohd Yousuf to face the swinging heat from Irfan Pathan. All he had to do was look the ball closely. And leave the ball, if it is going away or connect the bat with the ball properly, if the ball comes his way.
Mohd. Yousuf did some stretching before he decided to face Pathan. Meanwhile, Dravid added few extra fielders in the catching positions. Irfan Pathan adjusted his collar, as he started his run-up. He came charging in and bowled a perfect 124.9 kph delivery, which swung in and headed straight towards the small gap between the bat and the pads of Mohd. Yousuf.
The ball went into the gap and rattled the stumps! Thus Indian fans in the crowds cheered and danced, while teammates lifted Pathan. Pathan had created history! He was just smiling this time, full of satisfaction and a well-deserved swag.
Pathan later, took two more wickets in the inning, taking a five-wicket haul.
However, Pathan’s historic spell was not well supported by the Indian batsmen. India batted badly both in the first and second innings. Only Yuvraj Singh played well for India becoming the highest scorer in both the innings. Yuvraj scored 45(74) in the 1st inning and 122(144) in the second, while all other batsmen failed to even cross a fifty.
Pakistan, on the other hand, did well with the bat after the terrible start. Kamran Akmal scored a hundred, 113(148), in the first inning. Faisal Iqbal scored 139(220) in the second inning who was well supported by six other Pakistani batsmen, who all scored 50+ scores each. Pakistan declared on 599/7 and gave India an almost impossible target of 607 runs to win, which India fell short by 341 runs.
Thus Pakistan won the Test and the three-match Test series 1-0.
The three wickets in the hat-trick were Irfan Pathan’s 76th, 77th, and 78th Test wickets.
Overall, he took a total of 100 wickets in 29 Tests in his Test career. He played his last Test on 5 April 2008 vs South Africa.
3. Jasprit Bumrah
On 31 August 2019, Jasprit Bumrah became the third Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in Test cricket.
This was the second test of the India tour of West Indies 2019. Bumrah was already in a good form on the back of his five-wicket haul in the 1st Test, 2nd innings. World no.1 Test Team India was leading the series 1-0.
West Indies were trailing by 416 runs, in their 1st innings of the second Test, while Kohli and team were looking to have a great start, by taking few quick early wickets. Jasprit Bumrah gave a dream start to the team by taking four quick wickets, including the hat-trick.
Jasprit Bumrah’s three wickets which formed the Hat-trick (in detail):
1. Darren Bravo – 4 runs (8 balls) – c KL Rahul b Bumrah
West Indies were 13/1.
Bumrah ran in, with his typical stuttered start to his run-up, which later picks momentum. Jumping near the crease, he directed a 144 kph lethal delivery towards the left-handed batsman, Darren Bravo.
It pitched on the leg stump, on a slightly short length, and bounced, forcing the batsmen to play, while the ball was also swinging away slightly.
Bravo had no answer to that delivery, as he edged the ball and KL Rahul took a smart catch in the 2nd slip, diving to his right. West Indies were 13/2.
Such was the deadliness of the delivery that Ian Bishop went on to say in the commentary that Jasprit Bumrah was drawing blood in the Sabina Park. But little did he know that more bloodshed was waiting to happen in the very next two deliveries.
2. Shamarh Brooks – 0 (1 ball) – LBW b Bumrah
Next, came right-handed Shamarh Brooks.
Jasprit Bumrah came running in and bowled a 135 kph delivery which pitched in the good length area, outside off stump line and swung in to hit the pads. Bumrah, captain Kohli and team were all fired up as they appealed instantly. Umpire Paul Reiffel raised his finger in less than a second.
Brooks was not happy with something and decided to gamble with the DRS review.
However, in the DRS review, the screen clearly showed the three reds – pitching outside off, impact in line and the ball hitting the wickets. Clearly, the West Indies were in trouble at 13/3 and the review was lost too!
And yes, blazing Bumrah was on a hattrick!
3. Roston Chase- 0 (1 ball) – LBW b Bumrah
The next batsman to come was Roston Chase. The only thing expected from him was to watch the next ball closely enough to tackle it somehow and not fall prey to it.
Captain Virat Kohli was ready with his field setting of 4 slips and a gully. He also set a leg-gully, a little distant short-leg, and short mid-wicket.
Bumrah came pacing in with full speed and bowled a 144 kph stinger.
The ball pitched just outside the off stump line, in a fuller length area, and hit right onto the pads. Instantly, all the players appealed, except for Jasprit Bumrah!
Sadly, Bumrah thought he had missed the hattrick! He seemed sure that the ball was going legside.
Umpire did not raise his finger obviously, as Bumrah did not join the team’s appeal.
Captain Kohli, on the other hand, still saw a ray of hope in the situation. He first confirmed a few things from Bumrah and quickly signaled to the umpire that he wants to take the DRS review.
Virat Kohli was cool, confident and seemed assured in his heart that it was out, he even signaled the same to the team.
Bumrah, on the other hand, was still not sure and looked perplexed. He must have thought why the captain was wasting the review.
However, during the replay, the ultra edge confirmed that the ball had first hit the pads.
Next, the ball-tracking system showed that the ball had pitched outside off, the impact was in line and the ball was clearly hitting the leg stump. Three reds! That’s it, Chase was out, Kohli was right and Bumrah had taken the hattrick! West Indies were down to 13/4.
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Bumrah took 6 wickets for 27 runs in that inning. India easily won this second Test by 257 runs and cleaned-sweep the Test series 2-0. Hanuma Vihari was given the man of the match award for his 111 (225) in the first inning and 53 (76) in the second inning of the test.
The three wickets of the hat-trick were Jasprit Bumrah’s 57th, 58th, and 59th Test wickets.
After this test, Jasprit Bumrah overtook bowlers such as James Anderson and Jason Holder and became World No. 3 bowler in the ICC Test rankings 2019.
So those were the three Indian bowlers who took a hat-trick in Test cricket and etched their names in the golden history of cricket forever. It is a great record and it must be a big honor to be part of the hat-trick club for the three players. Fans like me will always carry these three hattrick records in their hearts with pride.
Sources:
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