A momentous day was witnessed in St. Vincent during the Super-8 match between Australia and Afghanistan as Pat Cummins etched his name into the record books with an extraordinary achievement. The 31-year-old Australian pacer became the first bowler ever to take two hat-tricks in T20 World Cups and record back-to-back hat-tricks in the T20I format.
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Cummins’ remarkable feat came on Sunday when he dismissed Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, and Gulbadin Naib in successive deliveries. He had also achieved a hat trick in his previous match against Bangladesh. Brett Lee was the first Australian to take a T20 World Cup hat-trick, doing so against Bangladesh in the tournament’s inaugural season. Cummins has now surpassed Lee with his back-to-back hat-tricks.
Cummins’ exceptional performance was crucial in restricting Afghanistan to 148 runs. This match was important for Afghanistan, as a loss would have guarantee India and Australia’s advancement to the Semi-Finals.
Cummins expressed his excitement and disbelief when reflecting on his historic achievement during the innings break. “Yeah, I remembered that one (hat-trick). Crazy. Played 100-odd games for Australia, (now) got two in a row. I thought they batted well. But I also thought we restricted the boundaries. They obviously ran well. Overall, decent bowling effort. Not our tidiest day in the field. Happy with the total,” he said, clearly overjoyed with his performance.
Riding on Pat Cummins’ Historical bowling Effort Restricts Afghanistan from 106-0 to 148/6 in 20 overs
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran’s third century stand of the tournament set Afghanistan up for a competitive total against Australia. Both openers hit half-centuries, with Australia waiting until the 16th over for a breakthrough, their longest wait for a wicket in T20Is. Despite a slow start, Gurbaz and Ibrahim accelerated, ending the powerplay at 40 for 0. Australia struggled with fielding errors, giving Ibrahim multiple lives.
However, Pat Cummins led Australia’s comeback with his second hat-trick in three days, reducing Afghanistan from 118 for 0 to 148 for 6, leaving the match evenly poised at the halfway mark.
Adam Zampa led Australia’s spin attack alongside Cummins, securing two important wickets. Zampa’s spell provided much-needed relief to the Australians after Afghanistan’s openers put up a century stand.
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