Cricket / SL's Hasaranga becomes first-ever spinner to take a hat-trick in history of T20 WC

Cricket Desk: Sri Lanka spinner Wanindu Hasaranga on Saturday became the only third bowler in history to take a hat-trick in T20 World Cups. Hasaranga took wickets off three successive deliveries against South Africa in a Group 1 game of the 2021 edition in Sharjah.

However, Hasaranga's hat-trick went in vain as David Miller and Kagiso Rabada's late heroics steered South Africa to a dramatic victory.

In a closely-contested game in Sharjah, Hasaranga's first dismissal of Aiden Markram in his third over marked Sri Lanka's comeback in the game, as the side broke a gritty 47-run stand in the 142-run chase.

In his next over, Hasaranga dismissed South Africa captain Temba Bavuma on 46, enabling Sri Lanka in making further inroads before steering the side to the brink of win with a third-consecutive dismissal in Dwaine Pretorius.

While Hasaranga ended with impressive figures of 4-0-20-3, the game turned on its head in the next two overs as Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara conceded 28 runs in 11 deliveries, forcing Sri Lanka to a second loss in the Super 12s.

Hasaranga is the third player to take a T20 World Cup hat-trick after Brett Lee (2007) and Curtis Campher (2021).

List of hat-tricks in T20 World Cups:

- Brett Lee (Australia) vs Bangladesh, Cape Town 2007

- Curtis Campher (Ireland) vs The Netherlands, Abu Dhabi 2021

- Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) vs South Africa, Sharjah 2021

With his hat-trick, Hasaranga has now taken 31 wickets in 18 matches in the shortest format of the game this year (internationals only), equalling the world no.1 T20I ranked bowler, South Africa's Tabraiz Shamsi.