Hat-trick Hero

Andy Blignaut became the 30th bowler in Test cricket and first from Zimbabwe to complete a Test hat-trick when he had Hannan Sarkar, Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur Rahman dismissed off third, fourth and fifth ball of his third over in Bangladesh's second innings in the Harare Test.

Sarkar was the first to go; trapped leg before wicket, while Ashraful was taken at gully by substitute fielder Travis Friend. Mushfiqur Rahman could only manage a thin-edge to wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu and the history was made.

There have been a total of 33 hat-tricks in the Test cricket (including Blignaut's). Australia's Fred Spofforth was the first bowler to take three wickets off three consecutive balls in a Test match. Australia's Hugh Trumble and Jimmy Matthews; and Pakistan's Wasim Akram have performed this feat twice. Matthews, in fact, did the hat-trick in each innings. England's Maurice Allom, New Zealand's Peter Petherick and Australia's Damien Fleming did the hat-trick on their debut, whereas the second Trumble and the Griffin hat-tricks were in their final Tests.

The hat-tricks of West Indian Courtney Walsh and Jermaine Lawson; and Australia's Merve Hughes were spanned over two innings. Sri Lankan fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa's hat-trick was from the first three balls he delivered in the Test – a feat unparalleled in first-class cricket. Pakistan's Wasim Akram was the first captain to take a hat trick, a feat he emulated in the next Test match.