Lasith Malinga, hat-trick

Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga, the hat-trick king in limited-overs international cricket, again claimed four wickets in four successive deliveries and this time in T20I cricket.

On Friday (6th September), during the third and final T20I of the home series against New Zealand at Pallekele, Lasith Malinga claimed his second T20I hat-trick and the fifth international hat-trick. It was the dead-rubber game of this series because of New Zealand already secured the T20I series after winning first two matches. But, the Sri Lankan T20I captain Lasith Malinga made it a special game with his incredible bowling performances.

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After winning the toss, Sri Lanka decided to bat first and managed to score 125/8 (20 overs). Chasing down that target, New Zealand batting faced massive collapse in the third over. In that over, Malinga took four wickets in four consecutive deliveries.

Lasith Malinga, hat-trick
Lasith Malinga (Image Credit: Google)

From the third to sixth ball of that over, Malinga dismissed Colin Munro (12), Hamish Rutherford (0), Colin de Grandhomme (0) and Ross Taylor (0) respectively. Malinga bowled Munro and  Grandhomme while he trapped Rutherford and Taylor for lbw.

Some important records after the latest achievement of Lasith Malinga

It was the eighth hat-trick in T20I history and Malinga became the first bowler to claim two T20I hat-tricks.

Also, it was the first time in international cricket when a bowler claimed four successive wickets in the same over. In the Super Eight stage of ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, Malinga claimed four wickets in four consecutive deliveries against South Africa. While it was in ODI format, Malinga achieved that feat in two different overs.

Lasith Malinga, hat-trick
Lasith Malinga (Image Credit: Google)

Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan was the first T20I bowler to claim four wickets in four consecutive deliveries in a match. He achieved that feat against Ireland at Dehradun on 24th February 2019. However, it also happened in two different overs.

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Also, the latest one was the fifth international hat-trick for Lasith Malinga which is the most international hat-tricks for any bowler. Former Pakistan left-arm pacer Wasim Akram is in the next position with four international hat-tricks (two in ODIs and two in Tests).

Lasith Malinga’s international hat-trick

Format Opposition Wickets Venue Date
ODI (four wickets) South Africa Shaun Pollock (b) Providence Stadium (Georgetown) 28th March 2007
Andrew Hall (c Upul Tharanga)
Jacques Kallis (c Kumar Sangakkara)
Makhaya Ntini (b)
ODI Kenya Tanmay Mishra (lbw) R Premadasa Stadium (Colombo) 1st March 2011
Peter Ongondo (b)
Shem Ngoche (b)
ODI Australia Mitchell Johnson (b) R Premadasa Stadium (Colombo) 22nd August 2011
John Hastings (lbw)
Xavier Doherty (b)
T20I Bangladesh Mushfiqur Rahim (b) R Premadasa Stadium (Colombo) 6th April 2017
Mashrafe Mortaza (b)
Mehedi Hasan (lbw)
T20I (four wickets) New Zealand Colin Munro (b) Pallekele International Cricket Stadium (Kandy) 6th September 2019
Hamish Rutherford (lbw)
Colin de Grandhomme (b)
Ross Taylor (lbw)

Bowlers who have claimed more than one hat-trick in one international format

Player (Team) No. of hat-tricks (Format)
Hugh Trumble (Australia) 2 (Test)
Jimmy Matthews (Australia) 2 (Test)
Wasim Akram (Pakistan) 2 (Test)
Wasim Akram (Pakistan) 2 (ODI)
Stuart Broad (England) 2 (Test)
Saqlain Mushtaq (Pakistan) 2 (ODI)
Chaminda Vass (Sri Lanka) 2 (ODI)
Trent Boult (New Zealand) 2 (ODI)
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) 3 (ODI)
Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka) 2 (T20I)

Lasith Malinga finished this game with the spectacular bowling figures of 4-1-6-5. Sri Lanka won this match by 37 runs after bundling out the visitors for just 88 runs (16 overs). However, New Zealand won this T20I series by the 2-1 margin.