Sam Curran is the first player from England to have taken an IPL hat-trick. (Image Source: IPL website)Delhi Capitals were seemingly cruising to victory over Kings XI Punjab before Sam Curran and Mohammed Shami swooped down on them in the death overs to spark a dramatic collapse. In the process, Delhi registered four ducks (five if you include Prithvi Shaw off the first ball of the innings), lost 7 wickets for 8 runs in the last 17 deliveries and Curran became the first hat-trick taker of the season.
First HATTRICK of #VIVOIPL 2019 @CurranSM ????
What a comeback this from @lionsdenkxipin as they win by 14 runs in Mohali. pic.twitter.com/cSnOG9o9z4
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) 1 April 2019
Curran is the first Englishman to take a hat-trick in the IPL and the 18th player to do so overall. He is the third Kings XI Punjab player to do it after Yuvraj Singh (vs RCB 2009, vs Deccan Chargers 2009) and Axar Patel (vs Gujarat Lions 2016).
Curran got his first wicket in his second over, which was the 18th of the innings. Mohammed Shami had just dented Delhi Capitals’ cruise ship by dismissing Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin then effected the dismissal of Chris Morris off the very next ball. Delhi would go on to lose all their wickets within the space of the next 14 balls in a capitulation that was of their own making as much as it was because of the Punjab bowlers’ persistence.
Colin Ingram was the first to fall to Curran off the fourth ball of the 17th over thanks to a rather silly drive that went straight to long-off. His next wicket was off the last ball of that over with Harshal Patel nicking it to wicketkeeper KL Rahul.
He then came back to bowl the final over and in the intervening period Shami had dismissed Hanuma Vihari, the last recognised batsman in the Capitals’ lineup. Curran got Rabada off the first ball of the match with an inswinging yorker.
The batsman who replaced the South African was 18-year-old Sandeep Lamicchane, who never stood a chance against the fire breathing Curran. His next delivery was a yorker at off-stump that hit its target unimpeded as Lamicchane went for a shot towards the offside.
