Karnataka leg spinner Shreyas Gopal put in a stellar performance against Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Tuesday (December 3), taking a hat-trick which included both Pandya brothers.
In the latest round of matches, Baroda and Karnataka faced off in a star-studded clash at the Emerald High School Ground in Indore. Karnataka skipper Mayank Agarawal won the toss and chose to bat first, but saw his side slip to 34-3 by the end of the third over.
Shreyas Gopal was sent up the order to bat at No.5, and helped stabilise the innings by contributing 18 in a 48-run stand with R Smaran. After the pair departed, Abhinav Manohar upped the ante, hitting six sixes en route to an unbeaten 56 off 34 balls to help Karnataka post 169-8.
In reply, Baroda were cruising in their chase, having reached 102-1 by the halfway stage thanks to an 89-run partnership between opener Shashwat Rawat and No.3 Bhanu Punia.
Gopal's third T20 hat-trick
Gopal came on to bowl the eleventh over – his second – and struck with the first ball, as Manish Pandey held on to a catch to send Rawat back for 63. In strode Hardik Pandya, in sublime form with the bat in this year's tournament. But Gopal managed to dismiss the India star for a golden duck, Manoj Bhandage holding on to the catch.
Krunal, the elder Pandya brother and Baroda's skipper came in to face the hat-trick ball but met with the same fate as his sibling – a golden duck, once again caught, this time by Pravin Dubey. Gopal went on to pick up the wicket of Punia and finish with 4-19 from 4 overs, even as Karnataka ended up losing the match.
This is Gopal's third hat-trick in T20 cricket, after his effort for Karnataka against Haryana in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and for Rajasthan Royals against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL, both in 2019. On the latter occasion, he could count Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers among his victims.
Amit Mishra, Andre Russell, Andrew Tye, Imran Tahir and Mohammad Sami are the other players to have taken three hat-tricks in men's T20 cricket. Afghanistan star Rashid Khan has four to his name.
Interestingly, Gopal was the first victim in the previous SMAT hat-trick – taken by pacer Akash Madhwal for Uttarakhand against Karnataka 10 days ago.
In the recently-concluded IPL auction, the leggie secured a contract worth INR 30 lakh to play for the Chennai Super Kings. He was part of the Mumbai Indians last year, and has also been part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals teams.
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