Most Hat-Tricks Takers in ODI
Completing a 10-over spell with three wickets to your name isn’t a small feat and then there have been instances when the bowler has picked three wickets in just three deliveries. However, such instances have been rare in international cricket.
You don’t often get to take a hat-trick. Only the ones who have been at the top of their game and are the best in the business have managed to do that. Some have even done that more than once in international cricket.
On that note, we look at the top 5 bowlers with most hat-tricks in ODIs:
#5 Saqlain Mushtaq (2 Hat-Tricks)
Saqlain Mushtaq would spin a web around batsmen during his prime in international cricket. He has many a game for Pakistan in his international cricket career. He sits fifth in the list of top 5 bowlers with most hat-tricks in ODIs. The Pakistan great has managed to take two hat-tricks in his international career. The first of them came for Mushtaq in 1996 against Zimbabwe in Peshawar where he got rid of Grant Flower, John Rennie, and Andy Whittall.
The second hat-trick for Mushtaq was also registered against Zimbabwe, but this time during the 1999 World Cup, when he dismissed Henry Olonga, Adam Huckle, and Pommie Mbangwa, making the rare list of bowlers to take a hat-trick in a World Cup.
#4 Trent Boult (2 Hat-Tricks)
Over the last decade, Trent Boult has been the leader of New Zealand’s pace department. His first hat-trick came against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in 2018, where Boult accounted for the wickets of Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, and Mohammad Hafeez. His hat-trick helped New Zealand won that game by 47 runs. His second hat-trick was more special as it came in the 2019 World Cup against a formidable unit of Australia. Boult dismissed Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc, and Jason Behrendorff to make it three in three balls.
#3 Kuldeep Yadav (2 Hat-Tricks)
The only Indian to have taken two hat-tricks in international cricket, Kuldeep Yadav is third in the list of top 5 bowlers with most hat-tricks in ODI cricket. Over the last few years, Kuldeep Yadav has improved leaps and bounds in his international career.
His first hat-trick came in the year 2017 against Australia at Eden Gardens stadium. He dismissed Matthew Wade, Ashton Agar, and Pat Cummins in three consecutive balls to record the first hat-trick of his international career. In his second hat-trick, Kuldeep wreaked havoc against the Windies batsmen in Visakhapatnam in 2019 where he took the wickets of Shai Hope, Jason Holder, and Alzarri Joseph.
#2 Wasim Akram (2 Hat-Tricks)
Wasim Akram is hailed as one of the best bowlers to have ever played for Pakistan. He was known for his reverse swing and perfect yorkers. He took his first hat-trick in 1989 against the West Indies in Sharjah, where he accounted for the wickets of Jeff Dujon, Malcolm Marshall, and Curtly Ambrose. He bowled each of the three batsmen during his three-ball spell.
Interestingly, his three wickets of his second hat-tricks were also bowled dismissals. He bowled three Australian players i.e., Merv Hughes, Carl Rackemann, and Terry Alderman. Wasim Akram, in his international cricket, played 104 Tests and 356 ODIs, picking 414 and 502 wickets respectively.
#1 Lasith Malinga (3 Hat-Tricks)
Lasith Malinga is undoubtedly one of the best bowlers to have ever bowled on a cricket field. In his long and outstanding career, he has produced some stellar spells and has left his fans awestruck on numerous occasions.
Lasith Malinga is at the top of the pile when it comes to the most number of hat-tricks in ODIs. He has taken as many as three hat-tricks in his one-day international career- the most by any bowler. Malinga recorded his first hat-trick in the 2007 World Cup game against South Africa.
The match will always be etched in the mind of cricket lovers for a long time, courtesy a sensational spell by Lasith Malinga. Lasith Malinga took four wickets in four balls and almost won the game for his team from nowhere.
He claimed his second hat-trick in the 2011 World Cup against Kenya, where he finished with the figures of 6 for 38. His third hat-trick came against Australia in 2011 in Colombo where he accounted for the wickets of Mitchell Johnson, John Hastings, and Xavier Doherty.
