Irafn Pathan claims first over hat-trick against Pakistan: first ever in History to do so
In a 2006 match in Karachi, India chose to bowl first after winning the toss against Pakistan. When Irfan Pathan was given the fresh ball, he did not let his captain down.
After Harbhajan Singh, Pathan became the second bowler from India to achieve a hat-trick in a Test match.
This date, January 29, 2006, 15 years ago, is when Irfan Pathan made history. In the opening over of a Test match, the left-arm pacer made history by being the first bowler to take a hat-trick. It was made much more memorable by the fact that it happened in their own backyard against bitter rivals Pakistan.
It was the series’ third Test. Naturally, the surface for the last Test had a greenish hue to it, presumably to help Pakistan’s fast bowlers more after the first two Test matches had finished in draws.
However, India’s captain Rahul Dravid chose to bowl first after winning the toss. When Irfan Pathan was given the fresh ball, he did not let his captain down.
With a flawless outbound delivery that took the outside edge, the left-arm pacer, who is well-known for his in-dipper to the right-hander, removed Pakistan’s opener Salman Butt for a duck on the fourth ball.
Younis Khan entered the game for Pakistan at number three, but a delivery that came back in sharply trapped him right in front.
The next guy in was Mohammad Yousuf, one of Pakistan’s top batsmen at the time, and it’s possible that Pathan saved his best blow for him. The ball that had scored a hat-trick was pitched around off and then tailed back in to hit the top of middle after slipping by the right-hander’s bat and pad.
After Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan became the second bowler from India to record a hat-trick in a Test match.
Though Pakistan’s incredible comeback to win the series 1-0 meant that India lost that Test match by 341 runs, Indian supporters still have great memories of that Karachi Test because of Irfan Pathan’s hat-trick.
The all-rounder made the decision to put up his boots in January 2020 after amassing 100, 173 and 28 wickets while playing for India in 29 Tests, 120 ODIs, and 24 T20Is. His performance with the bat was also rather respectable. In Test cricket, Pathan scored 1105 runs, in ODIs, 1544 runs, and in T20Is, 172 runs.
In the 2007 T20 World Cup final, which India won in Johannesburg, South Africa, against Pakistan, Pathan was also named player of the match.
FIRST EVER TEST HAT-TRICK BY AN INDIAN
In the longest format of cricket, just three Indian bowlers—Harbhajan Singh, Irfan Pathan, and Jasprit Bumrah—have claimed hat-tricks.
In a Border-Gavaskar Trophy match against Australia on March 11, 2001, off-spinner Harbhajan Singh made history by hitting the first hat-trick in Indian Test cricket history.
On a flat surface, captain of the Australian cricket team Steve Waugh elected to bat first after winning the toss. Opening pair Michael Slater and Matthew Hayden put up 103 runs before Slater left for 42, giving the visitors a strong start.
Australia’s supremacy was maintained by Hayden and Justin Langer until India captain Sourav Ganguly chose to reintroduce Harbhajan Singh into the attack.
The young Indian off-spinner showed fast thinking, first taking out the dangerous-looking Hayden for 97 runs before taking the wicket of Mark Waugh.
The 20-year-old Harbhajan, however, had other ideas as he turned the tide of the match by dismissing Ricky Ponting (6), Adam Gilchrist (0), and Shane Warne (0) in quick succession to complete the first Indian hat-trick in Test cricket. Australia still appeared to be in a comfortable position at 254/4 during the final session.
Warne’s timid prod off his first ball could only reach Sadagoppan Ramesh at short leg, and Ponting and Gilchrist were both stuck in front of the stumps. When the third umpire determined that Ramesh had successfully completed a fair catch to dismiss Warne, over a quarter of a million Indian fans at Eden Gardens cheered.
With his final stats of 7/123, Harbhajan contributed to holding a strong Australian batting lineup to 445.
It was one of the most memorable times of my life. I felt really recognized and confident after the hat-trick that I could succeed [against a top squad at the highest level]. Harbhajan was then cited as saying in an interview with a news outlet, “I felt like, if I can do it against these guys, the best guys then I can do it against any other team.”
As I mentioned before, it is something that is really, really significant to me as it made me recognized and caused others to start depending on me. Indeed, they thought, “This guy can do it.” The off-spinner continued, “The hat-trick and the series was a turning moment in my life.
