A hat-trick is a terrific achievement in any format of the game. While the relevance is immense in the five-day format, a hat-trick in the shorter formats is also quite a difficult accomplishment. Many players in the history of the game have managed to take a hat-trick. A few of them have got it in both the ODI and the T20I format. In this article, we take a look at the list of four bowlers who have taken a hat-trick in both ODIs and T20Is.
1) Brett Lee
ODI Hat-Trick: Opposition – Kenya || Venue – Durban || Year – 2003
T20I Hat-Trick: Opposition – Bangladesh || Venue – Cape Town || Year – 2007
Brett Lee is one of the bowlers who have taken a hat-trick in both ODIs and T20Is. Incidentally, the Aussie speedster achieved it at the highest level in the World Cups. He took the ODI hat-trick in the 2003 World Cup in South Africa. While two of the wickets were bowled, one scalp was due to an edge to the slip-fielder.
Lee is the first player to collect a hat-trick in the T20I format. He did in the 2007 T20 World Cup against Bangladesh. This event was also held in South Africa. Lee’s wickets in this feat included Shakib Al Hasan, Mashrafe Mortaza and Alok Kapali.
2) Thisara Perera
ODI Hat-Trick: Opposition – Pakistan || Venue – Colombo || Year – 2012
T20I Hat-Trick: Opposition – India || Venue – Ranchi || Year – 2016
Thisara Perera was a good all-rounder, but he was known for more of his power-hitting than his bowling skills. Of course, he did deliver at times with the ball in hand. In fact, the all-rounder has a hat-trick in both ODI and T20I cricket. Interestingly, both of his hat tricks have come against good opposition. While the ODI hat-trick was against Pakistan in 2012, the T20I hat-trick was against India in 2016.
The victims of Perera’s ODI hat-trick were Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi and Sarfraz Ahmed. All three were caught out. The Indian players who were part of the Sri Lankan’s T20I hat-trick are Hardik Pandya, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh. The Indians were also caught out.
3) Lasith Malinga
First ODI Hat-Trick: Opposition – South Africa || Venue – Georgetown || Year – 2007
Second ODI Hat-Trick: Opposition – Kenya || Venue – Colombo || Year – 2011
Third ODI Hat-Trick: Opposition – Australia || Venue – Colombo || Year – 2011
First T20I Hat-Trick: Opposition – Bangladesh || Venue – Colombo || Year – 2017
Second T20I Hat-Trick: Opposition – New Zealand || Venue – Kandy || Year – 2017
Lasith Malinga is the only player in the history of the game to have taken three hat-tricks in ODI cricket. He also has two hat-tricks to his name in T20Is. One of his ODI hat-tricks was a double hat-trick in which he took four wickets in four consecutive deliveries. This was against South Africa in the 2007 World Cup.
The Sri Lankan legend also took two T20I hat-tricks, one against Bangladesh and the next against New Zealand. While Sri Lanka lost the game to Bangladesh, they won against the Kiwis.
4) Wanindu Hasaranga
ODI Hat-Trick: Opposition – Zimbabwe || Venue – Galle || Year – 2017
T20I Hat-Trick: Opposition – South Africa || Venue – Sharjah || Year – 2021
Wanindu Hasaranga is one of the very few players who picked up a hat-trick in their debut international outing. The Sri Lankan all-rounder did that in 2017 against Zimbabwe. In that encounter, he bowled only 2.4 overs, and he got three wickets in them. Sri Lanka won the game comfortably.
In recent years, Hasaranga has developed his skills in the T20 format. At the moment, he is one of the best spinners in the version. Against South Africa in the T20 World Cup, he collected a hat-trick. It brought Sri Lanka back into the game, but the effort was too late as South Africa chased the target down in the final over.
