India pacer Mohammed Shami added his name to the annals of the Bengal T20 League competition by taking the first-ever hat-trick for Servotech Siliguri Strikers against the Shrachi Rarh Tigers at Eden Gardens on Saturday. The veteran Indian pacer set up a 24-run win for the Strikers in the Season 3 clash.
After being asked to bat first, Siliguri Strikers posted an imposing 208/4 in their allotted 20 overs. Vishal Bhati starred with a brilliant 86 off 46 deliveries, striking five fours and six sixes to anchor the innings.
Karan Lal chipped in with a useful 39, while Pramod Chandila provided the finishing flourish with an unbeaten 36 from just 16 balls. Shami also made a brief impact with the bat, remaining unbeaten on eight off two deliveries, including
a six.
For the Tigers, skipper Shahbaz Ahmed, Raju Haldar, Sukhmeet Singh, and Rahul Prasad claimed a wicket apiece.
Chasing a daunting target of 209, Shrachi Rarh Tigers stayed in contention through aggressive knocks from Shubham Dey Sr, who scored 48 off 25 balls, and Rahul Prasad, who contributed 44 from 26 deliveries. However, the lack of substantial partnerships proved costly as wickets fell at regular intervals.
The decisive moment arrived in the 16th over when Shami unleashed a game-changing spell. He dismissed Shahbaz Ahmed for 24 (18) on the fourth ball, as the left-hander miscued a lofted drive straight to the deep mid-wicket fielder. Rohit Kumar had no answer to Shami’s sharp bouncer on the second ball and was comprehensively beaten by pace, top-edging it to deep square leg.
On the hat-trick ball, Shami went for a no-nonsense yorker on Dipanjan Mukhopadhyay’s toes, and the batter played all over it to become the third consecutive victim. Mukhopadhyay reviewed it, and DRS showed two reds and the umpire’s call on hitting, thus sealing Shami’s record.
Watch the hat-trick here between minutes 9:08 and 10:26.
Earlier, Shami had also accounted for opener Sumanta Gupta and finished with outstanding figures of 4/27 from four overs.
Karan Lal further strengthened Siliguri’s bowling effort with figures of 3/36, while Ishan Porel and Vishal Bhati picked up a wicket each. Shrachi Rarh Tigers eventually finished on 184/9, handing Siliguri Strikers a commanding opening win.
Why is Mohammed Shami not in the Indian T20 side?
Shami has been out of favor for a while now. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar recently said the latest update they had on Shami was that he was only fit for T20s, but his panel has refrained from picking him even in the shortest format. While starters Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh have not allowed any pacer the room to replace them, the selectors have also preferred younger backups, like Prince Yadav.
