Pat Cummins Scripts History- First Bowler with Consecutive T20 WC Hat-tricks
Overview:
The ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup has been marked by the resurgence of fast bowlers at the forefront of world cricket, with the pacers wreaking havoc on their batting counterparts. Slow pitches and relatively newer surfaces to bat on, have dealt a severe blow to the hitting abilities of the batters with high scoring teams like India and Australia failing to post respectable totals while batting first.
Despite several stellar performances, none of the bowlers managed to secure the season’s maiden hat trick in the tournament’s first leg.
Pat Cummins Scripts History- First Bowler with Consecutive T20 WC Hat-tricks:
The Super Eights stage match between Bangladesh and Australia witnessed the first hat trick of the tournament’s ninth edition, with Australia’s World Cup-winning captain, Pat Cummins, achieving his first-ever hat trick in T20 World Cup history.
Cummins’ crucial spell played a pivotal role in leading the Aussies to their maiden victory in the Super 8’s stage of the tournament.
Pat Cummins’ historic spell against Bangladesh marked the second hat trick by an Australian bowler in the prestigious tournament, following Brett Lee’s iconic hat trick against the very same team in 2007 edition of the tournament. Interestingly, Brett Lee’s impressive feat was the first-ever hat trick in the history of T20 Internationals.
But this wasn’t the end of the Hattrick saga. What Cummins would go on to achieve in the very next encounter against Afghanistan was still unknown to the fanatics of T20 cricket.
Australia’s next match against Afghanistan showcased yet another Pat Cummins masterclass, with the premier pacer claiming a historic hat-trick against the formidable Afghan team.
Cummins’ back to back hattrick in the two matches against the Asian teams were quite similar given that both of them did not come in the same over but after a hiatus of some overs.
Let me explain!
Against Bangladesh, Cummins took two wickets in the last two balls of one over and another wicket with the first ball of the next over. Similarly, against Afghanistan, he took a wicket with the last ball of one over and then struck again with the first two balls of the next over.
Cummins’ cemented his position as one of the most successful skippers in the history of world cricket with Australia’s marvelous triumph over Team India in their very own home ground last year. While almost every Indian fan would hope to have the daunting encounter expunged from their memory, nobody would ever be able to forget Cummins’ historic pledge on the day before the Finals where he promised in front of the press that the Aussies would be going on to the pitch to have the 120,000+ Indian fans silenced, and that is what happened.
Bowling first, the Aussies restricted the Men In Blue to a meagre total of 240 runs, which was comfortably chased down by the Australian batters with 7 overs left to bowl- thanks to Travis Head’s majestic knock which played a pivotal role in leading the Australians to their 6th ODI World Cup triumph.
Here is the link to the video of the historic final match between India and Australia in Ahmedabad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqKYpgZ9FWU
Pat Cummins stands out as the only bowling captain of the 21st century who has lifted the ODI World Cup trophy. With a remarkable international career marked by two ODI World Cups and a T20 World Cup triumph, Pat Cummins is undoubtedly one of the stalwarts of modern day cricket who has redefined the Gentleman’s game with his astute decision making skills as the Aussie skipper.
Do you know who is India’s highest wicket taker in T20 World Cups??
Here is the link to the Cricwallah Classic that unveils the name of the Indian player with the most wickets in the T20 World Cups:
https://cricwallah.com/who-is-indias-highest-wicket-taker-in-t20-world-cups/