The ODI World Cup is a grand event and the most anticipated one in cricket. While batters are crucial for posting competitive totals, bowlers win matches by picking up wickets at regular intervals.
What is better than picking up a wicket? Picking three wickets in a row! An event where a bowler picks up three consecutive wickets is known as a hat-trick. There have been eleven hat-tricks in the history of the ODI World Cup, two of them by Indians.
You can also engage in ODI Cricket World Cup Betting and place bets on bowlers who are likely to take wickets at crucial junctures of the match.
Hat-Tricks in the ODI World Cup
The following are the instances when bowlers took hat-tricks in the World Cup:
Chetan Sharma – 1987 World Cup
Chetan Sharma became the first bowler in the history of the World Cup to take a hat-trick. This happened during the 1987 World Cup, when India took on New Zealand.
Batting first, New Zealand only managed 221 runs, thanks to a superb hat-trick by Chetan Sharma. He dismissed Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith, and Ewen Chatfield off the consecutive deliveries – all of them bowled.
India won the match by nine wickets with 107 balls to spare.
Saqlain Mushtaq – 1999 World Cup
Saqlain Mushtaq cleaned up the Zimbabwean lower order with a brilliant hat-trick in the 1999 World Cup. His hat-trick included the wickets of Henry Olanga, Adam Huckle, and Pommie Mbangwa. Pakistan dominated this match, winning it by a comprehensive 148 runs.
Chaminda Vaas – 2003 World Cup
Chaminda Vaas made history when he picked up a hat-trick of the first three balls of the match against Bangladesh in the 2003 World Cup.
Sri Lanka completely dominated the match, chasing down the target of 125 runs in just 21.1 overs.
Brett Lee – 2003 World Cup
Brett Lee was breathing fire during the 2003 World Cup. When Australia took on Kenya in the 2003 World Cup, Brett Lee got rid of Kennedy Otineo, Brijal Patel, and David Obuya to register a World Cup hat-trick.
Australia won the match by five wickets, chasing down the target of 175 runs in just 31.2 overs.
Lasith Malinga – 2007 World Cup
Lasith Malinga almost gave a heart attack to all South African supporters when he picked up four wickets in consecutive balls. Chasing a below-par target of 210 runs, South Africa were cruising before Malinga picked up the wickets of Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, and Makhaya Ntini. South Africa eventually won the match by one wicket.
Kemar Roach – 2011 World Cup
Kemar Roach was at his absolute best against the Netherlands in the 2011 World Cup. He picked up six wickets in the match, including a hat-trick. Kemar Roach’s hat-trick included wickets of Pieter Seelaar, Bernard Loots, and Berend Westdijk.
Chasing 331 runs, the Netherlands came across the Roach storm, losing the match by 215 runs.
Lasith Malinga – 2011 World Cup
Guess who’s back? Lasith Malinga destroyed the Kenyan team with his six-wicket haul, which included one hat-trick. His hat-trick included the wickets of Tanmay Mishra, Peter Ongondo, and Shem Ngoche.
Kenya was bowled out for 142 runs, and Sri Lanka won the match comfortably by nine wickets.
Steven Finn – 2015 World Cup
Steven Finn picked up a brilliant five-wicket haul against Australia that included a hat-trick. This hat-trick came off the last three balls of the innings and included the wickets of Brad Haddin, Glenn Maxwell, and Mitchell Johnson.
Australia posted 342 runs and won the match by 111 runs.
JP Duminy – 2015 World Cup
JP Duminy picked up a hat-trick in the crucial quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup against Sri Lanka. His hat-trick included wickets of Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, and Tharindu Kaushal.
Sri Lanka were bowled out for just 133 runs, and South Africa chased down the total in just 18 overs.
Trent Boult – 2019 World Cup
Trent Boult, a talented left-arm pacer, brought his A-game to the table when New Zealand faced Australia in the 2019 World Cup. His hat-trick included wickets of Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc, and Jason Behrendorff.
Batting first, Australia posted 243 runs. New Zealand could only manage 157 runs, losing the match by 86 runs.
Mohammed Shami – 2019 World Cup
Mohammed Shami bowled an attacking spell to take four crucial wickets against Afghanistan in the 2019 World Cup. In the crucial last over, Shami picked up a hat-trick to seal the match for India. Shami’s hat-trick included wickets of Mohammad Nabi, Aftab Alam, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
India scored a below-par 224 runs. Indian bowlers came back hard at the Afghanistan batters, due to which India managed to win the match by 11 runs.
Bowlers Likely to Take Hat-tricks in the 2023 ODI World Cup
The following is a list of bowlers who could potentially take a hat-trick in the 2023 ODI World Cup:
Trent Boult
Mitchell Starc
Mohammed Siraj
Mark Wood
Rashid Khan
Concluding Thoughts
Hat-tricks are special, as they do not come often. But a hat-trick in a World Cup is even more special. All the bowlers who are a part of the 2023 World Cup will try their level best to pick up five-wicket hauls and hat-tricks.