Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins joined an elite group by taking his second T20I hat-trick in three days during the T20 World Cup 2024 Super Eight match against Afghanistan. Cummins became the fifth bowler in men’s T20Is to achieve this milestone, having already taken a hat-trick against Bangladesh in Antigua. This time, he made sure to remember he was on a hat-trick, unlike the previous match.
In the match against Afghanistan, Cummins completed his hat-trick across his last two overs in St Vincent. He dismissed Rashid Khan with the last ball of the 18th over, followed by Karim Janat with the first ball of the 20th over, and then Gulbadin Naib to deep midwicket. Reflecting on his achievement, Cummins told the broadcaster, “Yeah, remembered this one. Crazy to get two in a row after playing 100 plus games for Australia.”
Cummins nearly secured four wickets in four balls, a feat achieved by Ireland’s Curtis Campher during the 2021 T20 World Cup, but David Warner missed a catch at deep square when Nangeyalia Kharote swung to the leg side.
Cummins joined Lasith Malinga, Tim Southee, Serbia’s Mark Pavlovic, and Malta’s Waseem Abbas in having two T20I hat-tricks. Pavlovic took his hat-tricks on consecutive days in 2023, albeit across three matches. Cummins also became the second player to take a hat-trick in consecutive international matches, following Wasim Akram who did so in consecutive Tests against Sri Lanka in 1999. Jimmy Matthews achieved hat-tricks in each innings of a Test match against South Africa in 1912, both on the same day.
