Teenaged Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanidu Hasaranga created history right in his debut game against Zimbabwe, as he became just the third bowler in ODI history to pick up a hat-trick on debut. While the game currently is ongoing, the affair will be best remembered for Wanidu’s moment of glory, as the 19-year-old, playing just his first ODI, picked up three successive wickets in just the third over of his international career.
Hasaranga picked up the final three Zimbabwean wickets to quickly wrap up the innings of the visitors, as Sri Lanka look to level the series 1-1. Earlier, Zimbabwe stunned the hosts a couple of days ago by creating history during their epic chase of 316, the first 300+ run chase in Sri Lanka.
Hasaranga however, is not the first bowler to pick up a hat-trick on debut but has two other names for the company. The first such instance occurred in late 2014 at Mirpur, when Bangladesh spinner Taijul Islam picked up three successive wickets on debut, to etch his name in history.
Less than a year later, current South African pace sensation Kagiso Rabada repeated the feat as he took a hat-trick against Bangladesh in the first game of the ODI series. Incidentally, the first two instances of debutants taking a hat-trick were witnessed at Mirpur itself.
Sri Lanka currently is 55-2 in 13.5 overs, in pursuit of the target of 156. One thing for certain is that Hasaranga for sure is the next kid on the block and would want to make a bigger name for himself when star-studded Indian side tours Sri Lanka later this month.