Few moments in cricket bring a crowd to its feet like a hat-trick — three wickets in three balls, with the bowler on the brink of history and the batter walking in knowing what is at stake.
What Is a Hat-Trick in Cricket?
A hat-trick is when a bowler takes three wickets in three consecutive deliveries. The wickets do not need to come in the same over — they can be split across two overs, two spells, or even two innings of a Test match, as long as the three deliveries are consecutive balls bowled by that bowler.
The ball bowled after two wickets in a row is famously called the “hat-trick ball”, usually with an attacking field set.
Types of Hat-Tricks
- Test hat-trick — three in three balls in Test cricket (the rarest and most celebrated)
- ODI hat-trick — in one-day internationals
- T20I hat-trick — in T20 internationals
- IPL hat-trick — in the Indian Premier League
- Double hat-trick — four wickets in four balls (unofficial term, but widely used)
Most Famous Hat-Tricks in Cricket History
- Harbhajan Singh vs Australia, Kolkata 2001 — India’s first Test hat-trick, part of the famous comeback series
- Lasith Malinga vs South Africa, 2007 World Cup — four wickets in four balls, the only double hat-trick in World Cup history
- Chetan Sharma vs New Zealand, 1987 — the first-ever World Cup hat-trick
- Brett Lee vs Bangladesh, 2003 — the first T20I hat-trick in history
- Yuvraj Singh vs RCB, IPL 2009 — one of the earliest IPL hat-tricks
Hat-Trick Records and Stats
- Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga are among the few with multiple international hat-tricks
- Malinga is the only bowler with three ODI hat-tricks
- In Test cricket, hat-tricks remain rare — fewer than 50 in 150 years of the format
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Do the three wickets need to be in the same over?
No. They must be three consecutive deliveries by the same bowler, but they can span two overs, spells, or even innings.
What is a double hat-trick?
Four wickets in four consecutive balls. Lasith Malinga’s 4-in-4 against South Africa in the 2007 World Cup is the most famous.
Who has the most international hat-tricks?
Lasith Malinga leads with five international hat-tricks (three in ODIs, two in T20Is) — the most by any bowler.
What is the hat-trick ball?
The delivery bowled when a bowler has taken two wickets in two balls — the next ball, which could complete the hat-trick.
Final Summary
The hat-trick is cricket’s perfect three-act drama: two wickets, a stadium holding its breath, and one ball that makes history. From Harbhajan’s heroics at Kolkata to Malinga’s four-in-four, hat-tricks remain among the rarest and most thrilling feats in the game.
