Five most unique hat-tricks in ODI cricket: Hat-tricks are a rarity in any form of cricket. To take three wickets in three consecutive deliveries is no mean feat and which is why they are so memorable. To date, more than 4500 ODIs have been played, but the format has witnessed only around 50 instances of hat-tricks.
Among these occurrences, there have been a few very unique hat-tricks. Let’s take a look at the five most unique hat-tricks in ODI cricket.
Five most unique hat-tricks in ODI cricket
Here is a list of top 5 most unique hat-trick wickets in One Day Internationals which are impossible to break under any circumstances.
Chetan Sharma vs New Zealand, 1987
This is a very fondly remembered hat-trick from an Indian perspective as Sharma became the Indian bowler to do so in any format. Another interesting aspect of this hat-trick was that all three dismissals were bowled dismissals. To make it more unique, Sharma hit all three stumps one by one in all three dismissals (1st wicket – middle stump, 2nd wicket – off stump, 3rd wicket – leg stump). India went on to win the ODI by 9 wickets.
Chaminda Vaas vs Bangladesh, 2003
This encounter from the 2003 World Cup remains memorable for this feat from Chaminda Vaas. The left-arm legend dished out a splendid performance against Bangladesh. He became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in the first three balls of an ODI.
He clinched another wicket in the same over to leave Bangladesh reeling at 5/4. Vaas sent back Hannah Sarkar, Mohammad Ashraful and Ehsanul Haque to complete his hat-trick.
Charles Langeveldt vs West Indies, 2005
While this hat-trick is not among the most popular ones, it deserves a spot in the best hat-tricks of all time just because of the match situation. West Indies needed four runs in the final over with three wickets remaining. After singles on the first two balls, West Indies were left with two runs for victory. Langeveldt claimed the wickets of Ian Bradshaw, Daren Powell and Corey Collymore to secure a sensational victory for South Africa.
Lasith Malinga vs South Africa, 2007
Chasing 210 runs in this World Cup encounter, South Africa were comfortably placed at 206/5 with 32 balls remaining. Malinga had different plans as he decided to wreck the Protea innings. He dismissed Shaun Pollock and Andrew Hall to finish his 8th over. In the first two balls of his next over, he sent back Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini. Malinga thus became the first bowler to take 4 wickets in 4 balls in international cricket. Sri Lanka eventually lost the game but the slingy pacer recorded his name in the history books.
Taijul Islam vs Zimbabwe, 2014
The Bangladeshi bowler made his hat-trick extra special by achieving it on his ODI debut! In Mirpur, Zimbabwe were already reeling at 112/5 and Taijul added to their miseries. He had already taken a wicket on the first ball of his 7th over. He sent back Tinashe Panyangara to complete the over. In the following over, the left-arm spinner dismissed John Nyumbu and Tendai Chatara as Zimbabwe collapsed to 124/9. Bangladesh went on to win the encounter by 5 wickets.
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