Deepak Chahar Becomes the First Indian to
Pacer Deepak Chahar has become the first Indian to take a T20I hat-trick, achieving the feat by dismissing Bangladesh’s Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Aminul Islam in three successive deliveries in the third T20I. The 27-year-old registered figures of 3.2-0-7-6, the best-ever bowling figures in T20I history. The previous record was held by former Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis (4-2-8-6)
After the fifties from Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, Deepak Chahar produced world-best figures of six for seven, including a hat-trick, to cut Bangladesh’s chase 30 runs short despite Mohammad Naim’s 48-ball 81 in Nagpur on Sunday, 11 November.
Bangladesh would have wanted a solid start in chase of a competitive total, but Deepak Chahar ensured that wasn’t to be. He removed Liton Das for nine when the batsman tried to clear the on-side fence and Soumya Sarkar was caught at mid-off the very next ball, paying the price for failing to control his aerial drive. The visitors had been reduced to 12/2.
The 20-year-old Naim dealt with the pressure brilliantly. In rebuilding the innings with Mohammad Mithun, he didn’t forget to put the bad balls away. The frequency of easy offerings from India increased rapidly once the spinners came on in the middle-overs as they struggled to control the ball soaked in dew.
