Double Hat Trick!

Four wickets in four balls. Just as Herschelle Gibbs accomplished a feat that had never been done before in international cricket by hitting 6 sixes in an over, so did Lasith Malinga by taking four wickets in four balls. "Slinga" Malinga (so called because of his slinging bowling action) almost induced one of the greatest chokes of all time from South Africa. After Malinga's damage had been done, South Africa had slumped from 206/5 to 207/9. Faces that were once confident of victory agonised as thoughts of South Africa's previous World Cup gaffes in 1999 and 2003 must have been somewhere in their minds. A mere four runs for victory that turned out to be the hardest four runs to get.

When Robin Peterson's bat sliced a full Malinga delivery down to third man for four, the South Africans celebrated as if they had won the World Cup. The Proteas had overhauled Sri Lanka's total of 209 that had seemed much too small. That is before Malinga wrecked South Africa's lower order. Malinga's feat is called a double hat trick, because there are 2 sets of three consecutive wickets within the 4 consecutive wickets he took. Malinga's double hat trick came over 2 overs: He bowled Pollock and had Andrew Hall caught at cover both off slower balls. In his next over Kallis drove loosely at a full delivery outside off stump, only succeeding in edging the express delivery to the keeper, to give Malinga his hat trick. His next delivery was a well directed yorker that sent Makhaya Ntini's stumps flying.

(Cross Posted from Rain, No Play)

Labels: 2007 world cup, hat-trick, malinga, world cup