A 'hat trick' occurs in cricket when a bowler dismisses three batters with consecutive deliveries. Hat tricks are a rarity in cricket. It is difficult for a bowler to trap batters on three successive deliveries as the batter looks to play out the first ball of their innings. The bowler needs some luck and special delivery to send the new batter packing. It can be easier for a bowler to take wickets when a batter looks to score runs. But when they are determined to stay at the crease, the hat trick becomes even more special. That is why test hat tricks are special. Let us look at some of the best hat tricks of test cricket-
1. Keshav Maharaj
Keshav Maharaj took a hat trick against West Indies in 2021 when South Africa toured West Indies for a 2-match test series. He trapped Kieren Powell, Jason Holder, and Joshua da Silva to complete his hat trick. West Indies were chasing 324 to square the series. They were 106/4 in 37th over when Kehsav weaved his magic. He finished with a five-wicket haul to hand West Indies a crushing 158 runs defeat.
2. Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah achieved this feat at the venue of Kingston in 2019. This match was part of the ICC World Test Championship 2019-21. Bumrah dismissed Darren Bravo on 4-runs, & Shamarah Brooks & Roston Chase on their golden ducks to claim India's 3rd Hat-trick in Tests. Bumrah recorded his career-best bowling figure of 6/27 in the match. India won this match by 257 runs.
3. Naseem Shah
Naseem Shah is another young Pakistani sensation from Pakistan's fast bowler factory. He took a hat trick against Bangladesh in front of his home crowd at Rawalpindi in 2020. Bangladesh was trailing by 88 runs at that stage. Naseem Shah trapped Najmul Hossain Shanto and Taijul Islam in front of the wickets and was on a hat trick. He then got Mahmudullah to nick behind to bag his 4th wicket of the innings. His brilliant effort helped Pakistan claim an easy win.
4. Irfan Pathan
Irfan Khan was a left-arm swing bowler capable of in-swinging & out-swinging the ball. Irfan became the 1st bowler to take a hat-trick in the 1st over of the Test match. Pathan realized the achievement in the 3rd Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in 2006 when he sent Salman Butt, Younis Khan, & Mohammad Yousof to the pavilion without scoring a single run. His in-swinging delivery to dismiss Yousof is referred to as the ball of the century Number 8. Despite Pathan's heroics with the ball, India lost the match by 257 runs.
5. Stuart Broad
Stuart Broad is a right-arm medium pacer from England who has matured into one of the Test cricket specialists for England. Broad is the 2nd highest wicket-taker for England in Tests. Broad has taken two hat-tricks in Tests. One of his Hat-trick came against India at Nottingham in 2011 after dismissing MS Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, & Praveen Kumar. He took overall 8-wickets in the match, an effort that awarded him the man-of-the-match. England won this match by 319 runs. Broad's other hat-trick came against Sri Lanka at Leeds in 2014.
6. Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh took the hat trick in the iconic Eden Gardens test v/s Australia in 2001 at Kolkata. He dismissed Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, and Shane Warne to wind up Australia for 445 runs in the 1st innings. It was a record-breaking match. First, Bhajji's hat trick, then VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid put on a marathon 376 run partnership which brought India into a commanding position from nowhere. India stunned Australia to register one of the greatest wins in test cricket.
7. Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram is a left-arm pacer, perhaps regarded as the greatest left-arm bowler of all time. Also called The King of Swings, Wasim Akram has been at the center of many Pakistan National Team's records. He is the first Pakistani player to have picked a hat-trick in Test cricket. Wasim has claimed not a single but two hat-tricks, achieving the feat in the same tournament of the Asian Test Championship. Both of his hat-tricks were against Sri Lanka. His 2nd hat-trick came in the Final of The Asian Test Championship 1999.
8. Peter Siddle
England toured Australia for 5-match test series in 2010-11. In this series, Peter Siddle picked up a hat-trick against England in the 1st Test held at Brisbane. Siddle dismissed Alastair Cook, Matt Prior, & Stuart Broad to claim his first hat-trick. Siddle also recorded his career-best figure of 6/54 in the same match. The match ended in a draw.
9. Moeen Ali
Moeen Ali took a hat trick against South Africa in 2017 at The Oval by dismissing Dean Elgar, Kagiso Rabada, and Morne Morkel. It was the first hat trick by an English spinner in 79 years. Dean Elgar was well set at 136 when Moeen had him caught at slip to Ben Stokes. Similarly, Rabada edged one to Stokes again. On the 1st ball of his next over, Moeen trapped Morkel plumb in front, but the umpire did not oblige. England took a review to find the decision overturned & complete the victory by 239 runs.
10. Rangana Herath
Rangana Herath was the wily left-arm orthodox spinner. With Murali being the permanent member of the side, Herath got a few chances with very little room for error. But after Murali's retirement, Herath became a premier spinner for Sri Lanka. He took a hat trick against Australia in 2016 at Galle. He got Adam Voges, Peter Neville, and Mitchell Starc to complete his hat trick. This performance helped Sri Lanka get an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
