Bowlers to take four wickets in four balls in T20I cricket

Taking four wickets in four balls is a proud moment for any bowler in cricket. It is the dream of every bowler to take a hat trick at the international level. However, very few have been able to fulfil that dream. Some even went one step further and completed a double hat-trick by dismissing four batters in four balls.

A double hat-trick can derail any innings and ensure a win for the bowler's team. Generally, even one wicket is enough to break the batting team's momentum. But, when there is a double hat-trick, the chances of the batting team emerging victorious become negligible.

Speaking of double hat-tricks, let's take a look at the three bowlers who have taken four wickets in four balls in T20 International cricket history.

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#1. Rashid Khan | Afghanistan

Rashid Khan became the first cricketer to take four wickets in four balls in T20I matches during a game against Ireland in 2019 against Ireland in Dehradun, India. Afghanistan batted first and scored 210/7. In reply, Ireland was 153/3 when Rashid dismissed Kevin O'Brien on the last ball of the 16th over.

Rashid then returned to bowl the 18th over and scalped the wickets of George Dockrell, Shane Getkate, and Simi Singh to complete his first double hat-trick. Rashid finished with figures of 5/27 as Afghanistan beat the Irish team by 32 runs that night.

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#2. Lasith Malinga | Sri Lanka

Former Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga was the first fast bowler to take four wickets in four balls in T20I cricket history. The right-arm pacer took four wickets in four balls while playing for Sri Lanka in a home T20I against New Zealand in 2019. The Blackcaps were 15/0 in a run-chase of 126 runs while Malinga bowled the third over.

He bowled a yorker to clean up Colin Munro on the third ball, and on the next three balls, Hamish Rutherford, Colin de Grandhomme, and Ross Taylor lost their wickets as New Zealand ended the third over with 15/4 on the scoreboard. Like Munro, de Grandhomme was bowled by Malinga, while Taylor and Rutherford were dismissed LBW. 

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#3. Curtis Campher | Ireland

South Africa-born Irish all-rounder Curtis Campher became only the second bowler after Brett Lee to complete a hat-trick in an ICC T20 World Cup match. He achieved the feat during the 10th over of the game against the Netherlands. Campher dismissed Colin Ackermann, Ryan ten Doeschate, and Scott Edwards to achieve this feat.

The next ball after the hat-trick resulted in Roelof van der Merwe's wicket as Campher became the first bowler to take four wickets in four balls in T20 World Cup history. Ackermann got caught out, while Ryan and Scott were trapped in front of their stumps. Roelof van der Merwe, who once played for South Africa, lost his stumps to Campher on the first ball he faced.

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4. Jason Holder | West Indies

West Indies allrounder Jason Holder was the fourth bowler to take four wickets in four balls in T20I cricket history. He achieved the feat against England during their home T20I series in 2022. In the 5th and last T20I match of the series at Bridgetown, Holder returned with an astonishing bowling figure of 27/5 in just 2.4 overs.

In the second ball of the final over of the second inning, Holder first dismissed Chris Jordan, who tried to slog the ball out of the ground for a six and was caught at the boundary line. Then, in the next ball, Sam Billings went back to the dressing room in the same way, caught at deep midwicket.

For the hat-trick, Holder dismissed Adil Rashid, who was caught at deep square leg also. In the next ball, no one had noticed that Holder had bowled Shan Mahmood, except for Nicholas Pooran. Holder was named the player of the match and also won the player of the series award with 15 wickets in the whole series.

N.B: Last updated on 04/06/2024.