Australia fast bowler Pat Cummins starred with a hat-trick against Bangladesh in the Super Eight game of the T20 World Cup 2024 in Antigua.
It was the first hat-trick of this World Cup and the seventh overall in the tournament's history.
Cummins became the second Australian after Brett Lee to achieve this feat in the Men's T20 World Cup. Curtis Campher (who took four in four balls), Wanindu Hasaranga, Kagiso Rabada, Karthik Meiyappan and Josh Little are the other bowlers to have completed hat-tricks at the event.
However, Cummins later admitted he had forgotten about the hat-trick chance. "I didn't know I was on a hat-trick," he said. "I did the previous over, saw it come up on the screen, and by the time the next over came around had totally forgot about it. Think Stoinis ran in from the deep [and] was cheering and everyone's like, oh yeah. So, nice one."
After a wicketless first spell, Cummins claimed his hat-trick across overs 18 and 20. On the fifth ball of the 18th over, he induced an inside edge with a short-of-a-length delivery to rattle Mahmudullah's stumps. The next delivery was also a back-of-a-length ball from outside the off stump which Mahedi Hasan tried to upper-cut, but holed out to Adam Zampa at deep third.
When Cummins came on to bowl the final over of the innings, he started with a slower one from outside off against set batter Towhid Hridoy, who scooped the delivery to short fine leg. The hat-trick had Hridoy departing for a 28-ball 40 while it was the sixth time that Mahmudullah was a victim in a hat-trick in international cricket.
Cummins' three wickets and Zampa's 2 for 24 helped Australia restrict Bangladesh to 140 for 8. Australia were on the charge in their chase led by David Warner's half-century before rain interrupted the game and Australia were eventually declared winners by 28 runs by DLS method.