Hat-tricks in IPL History: Amit Mishra does it for third time

From top left (clockwise): Praveen Kumar, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Amit Mishra, Lakshmipathy Balaji, Ajit Chandila, Sunil Narine and Makhaya Ntini © Getty Images

By Sarang Bhalerao

Hat-trick!Hat-trick!Hat-trick. Amit Mishra picked up a hat-trick for the third time in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) against Pune Warriors India at Subrata Sahara Stadium, Pune.It is also a world record in the Twenty 20 format— shortest format of the game. Mishra has now taken three hat-tricks for three different IPL teams— another unique record for the leg-spinner.

On Wednesday, Mishra became the eighth bowler to claim a hat-trick in IPL — Yuvraj Singh had done it twice — and the second in this year’s edition after Sunil Narine’s hat-trick on Tuesday against Kings XI Punjab.

The IPL is getting increasingly intriguing. IPL 2013 has witnessed six last-ball finishes and two Super Overs and now two hat-tricks.

Let us revisit the 11 IPL hat-tricks, achieved so far:

1. Lakshmipathy Balaji: Chennai Super Kings vs Kings XI Punjab at MA Chidambaram Stadium on May 10, 2008

It was a see-saw battle. Chasing an imposing 181 for victory, Punjab’s run-chase was thwarted by Lakshmipathy Balaji. He picked up two wickets in the 13th over, dismissing Ramnaresh Sarwan (20) and the dangerous Shaun Marsh (58) as Punjab lost their momentum.

Balaji came in to bowl the 20th over of the game with Punjab needed 27 runs. He bamboozled Irfan Pathan with a slower delivery which the batsman mistimed and pulled straight into the hands of deep square-leg — the first of the three hat-trick victims. Piyush Chawla then hit Balaji’s length ball to long-off. The hat-trick ball was a slow bouncer which VRV Singh top-edged and ’keeper MS Dhoni took an easy catch.

2. Amit Mishra: Delhi Daredevils vs Deccan Chargers at Feroz Shah Kotla on May 15, 2008

It was yet another final-over hat-trick of the competition. Deccan Chargers needed 15 off their final over. Delhi captain Virender Sehwag, who had the mortification of seeing his team lose four games in a row, banked on Amit Mishra to get him wickets in a high-scoring encounter.

Mishra got Shahid Afridi off his first ball and then castled Herschelle Gibbs with a googly off his second. Coming back for the final over of the innings, Mishra had Ravi Teja caught at long-off by Shoaib Malik off his first ball. On his second, Pragyan Ojha danced down the wicket going for a big hit, was beaten in the air by Mishra’s googly and caught by Tillakaratne Dilshan. On the hat-trick ball, RP Singh gave Mishra the charge a tad too early. The leggie cleverly looped in his delivery to have the batsman stumped by Dinesh Karthik and got the hat-trick. Delhi won the game by 12 runs.

3. Makhaya Ntini: Chennai Super Kings vs Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on May 18, 2008

It was a hot Sunday afternoon at Kolkata where the partisan crowd still came to cheer their home team. But it was Makhaya Ntini who stole the thunder with his amazing spell (four for 21). Kolkata managed 149 off their 20 overs. Weather played a spoilsport and Chennai’s run-chase was prematurely halted. But they had done enough to ensure that they were ahead of the chase, winning the game by three runs courtesy of the Duckworth-Lewis method.

The South African fast bowler knocked over Sourav Ganguly off the last ball of the fifth over. He returned in the 17th over to castle Debabrata Das and David Hussey, off the first two deliveries of his new spell.

It was a clean bowled hat-trick.

4.Yuvraj Singh : Kings XI Punjab vs Royal Challengers Bangalore at Durban on May 1, 2009

What is it that Yuvraj Singh has not done on the cricket field? In 2007, he thumped Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over in the inaugural Twenty 20 World Cup in South Africa. Yuvraj also got his first T20 hat-trick in the rainbow nation.

In the 12th over of Bangalore innings, Yuvraj got Robin Uthappa and Jacques Kallis off the final two deliveries of the over. The feature of his bowling was the subtle variations in pace. The delivery to dismiss Uthappa was slow, while Kallis was foxed by an arm ball. Kallis’s willow, his faithful companion all throughout the thousands of runs, was a tad late in meeting the ball as the stumps went cartwheeling.

Yuvraj’s third victim was Kallis’s compatriot Mark Boucher who got an arm ball first-up from Yuvraj. The start of 14th over got IPL 2009 its first hat-trick taker. Yuvraj also scored 50, but his efforts were not enough for Punjab to chase a modest target of 146.

5. Rohit Sharma: Deccan Chargers vs Mumbai Indians on May 6, 2009

It was quite bizarre and surreal. Mumbai Indians gift-wrapped the match for Deccan Chargers; the hero of the victory being Rohit Sharma — with the ball! Abhishek Nayar tried to play a paddle sweep, missed and was bowled. Harbhajan Singh was probably oblivious of the fact that JP Duminy was at the opposite end. He went for an all-mighty heave off his first delivery and was clean bowled. And off Sharma’s first ball of his second over, Duminy missed a sweep shot and gloved the ball to wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist to give the non-regular bowler a rare hat-trick.

6. Yuvraj Singh: Kings XI Punjab vs Deccan Chargers at Johannesburg on May 17, 2009

Yuvraj did it yet again! This time, his team won the match by a solitary run.

Piyush Chawla held Herschelle Gibbs off the final delivery of Yuvraj’s second over. Andrew Symonds was stumped by Kumar Sangakkara on the first ball of Yuvraj’s third over and the left-arm spinner got his third wicket in three balls when Venugopal Rao was deceived by an arm ball to be bowled as Kings XI clinched a cliff-hanger.

7. Praveen Kumar: Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Rajasthan Royals at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on March 18, 2010

RCB bowlers Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn and Anil Kumble throttled Rajasthan who were bowled out for a paltry 92. When Praveen came on to bowl the 17th over, he outwitted the Rajasthan batsmen with his variations. Damien Martyn got a near-perfect in-swinging yorker which he failed to negotiate. Rajasthan’s innings was going nowhere. Sumit Narwal was bounced out by Praveen, hooking straight to fine-leg. Paras Dogra missed a straight delivery to give an ecstatic Praveen the hat-trick. The partisan crowd recorded high decibel levels. It was the first and the only hat-trick recorded in IPL 2010.
8. Amit Mishra: Deccan Chargers vs Kings XI Punjab at Dharamsala on May 21, 2011

It was a must-win game for Punjab. Their hopes of making it to the semi-final rested on this game. But after Shikhar Dhawan’s knock of 95, it was the turn of Amit Mishra to don the spotlight with a hat-trick.

Amit Mishra became the only bowler to pick up two hat-tricks in IPL, playing for two different teams. He picked up Ryan McLaren, Mandeep Singh and Ryan Harris this time. Punjab saw the rug being pulled off from their feet. Their dreams of a semi-final qualification were over.
9. Ajit Chandila: Rajasthan Royals vs Pune Warriors India at Sawai Man Singh Stadium on May 13, 2012

At the toss, Rahul Dravid couldn’t remember the name of the person who was going to play the match. The only thing he knew was that he was a second spinner for his side. By the end of the match Ajit Chandila went in the record books and the rest of the world sat up and took notice of him.

Pune Warriors India found yet another way to lose a match in IPL 2012. This time an unheralded raw recruit from Haryana befuddled Pune in his first spell.

Jesse Ryder was dismissed for his seventh single-digit score of the IPL. He played an impetuous shot and was caught by Shane Watson.

Sourav Ganguly and Robin Uthappa failed to gauge the movement of Chandila’s deliveries and were stumped.

Chandila’s four-wicket sortie made life hell for Pune.

10. Sunil Narine: Kolkata Knight Riders vs Kings XI Punjab at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, on April 16, 2013

Sunil Narine confused Punjab, who were in search of big hits, with his mystery deliveries. David Hussey cut an incoming delivery that bounced like a spitting cobra. Wicketkeeper Bisla held onto a regulation chance.

Veteran Azhar Mahmood got a leading edge when he tried to work the ball on to the leg side. And young Gurkeerat Singh committed the cardinal sin of typecasting Narine as an off-spinner. The ball went the other way and hit the off-stump.

11) Amit Mishra: Sunrisers Hyderabad vs Pune Warriors India at Subrata Sahara Stadium, Pune on April 17, 2013

Amit Mishra became the only bowler in IPL history to pick three hat-tricks in the tournament. And the unique thing about the hat-tricks is that Mishra got them for three different teams.

Pune needed 14 off the final two overs when Mishra started the penultimate over. Mishra got the wicket of Pune skipper Angelo Mathews off the second ball of the over.

He got Bhuvaneshwar Kumar off the fourth delivery with a flipper. A wild slog by Rahul Sharma off the fifth delivery was an impetuous shot. At the other end India’s first IPL centurion was dumbfounded.
Mishra bowled Ashok Dinda with a googly off his final delivery of the spell.  It was a breathtaking performance from the leg-spinner.

(Sarang Bhalerao hails from a family of doctors, but did his engineering. He then dumped a career in IT with Infosys to follow his heart and passion and became a writer with CricketCountry. A voracious reader, Sarang aspires to beat Google with his knowledge of the game! You can follow him on Twitter here)