ODI World Cup is the biggest event in the game of cricket. While taking a hat trick in a regular bilateral in itself is a terrific feat, doing that on a stage like the World Cup is a brilliant achievement. A few Indians have done that in the past. Some popular cricketers such as Lasith Malinga, Brett Lee and Chaminda Vaas have also done this. On that note, here, we take a look at two Indians who have taken a hat-trick in ODI World Cup history.
1) Chetan Sharma vs New Zealand (1987)
The former Chairman of Selectors was the first bowler in the history of World Cups to take three wickets on three consecutive balls. He did that against the Kiwis in 1987.
The wickets of Chetan included Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield. Chetan helped India restrict the Kiwis to 221 for 9 in the first innings. Later, the Indians found it easy to get to the target, with Sunil Gavaskar making a century. Gavaskar and Chetan Sharma shared the Man of the Match award.
2) Mohammed Shami vs Afghanistan (2019)
Shami is one of the Indians who have taken a hat-trick in ODI World Cup history. Along with Shami, Trent Boult also took a hat-trick in the 2019 World Cup. Shami’s feat was against the Afghan squad.
The wickets of Shami included Mohammad Nabi, Aftab Alam and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. With these three wickets, Shami helped India clean up the tail of Afghanistan without much trouble. While Nabi’s wicket was taken with the help of Hardik Pandya’s catch, both Aftab nor Mujeeb did not have answers to Shami’s fiery deliveries as they were bowled. It was a really important performance by Shami in that game. India had just made 224 runs in the first innings and was looking at an upset. However, thanks to Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, Afghanistan was all out for 213.
