And Akram does it again (15 March 1999)

15 March 1999

And Akram does it again

Syed Ashfaqul Haque

And Mahela Jayawardane made the mistake!

That's exactly what the Pakistani skipper wanted. The dream came true. Nay, he later said, he had not even dreamt of it.

Yesterday, at Dhaka, the world's first neutral Test venue, Wasim Akram produced a seven-ball cameo to become only the third bowler to achieve a hattrick twice in the history of Test cricket.

One of the most talented bowlers of all time, Akram repeated the rare feat within the span of eight days here at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

The lethal left-arm fast bowler, playing his 88th Test match, jolted the Sri Lankan top order shortly after the islanders began their second innings on the third day of the Asian Test Championship final and then went on to accomplish his second hattrick in successive Test.

The tall all-rounder, who claimed his first hattrick in last week's Lahore Test against the same opponents, devastated the top-order to leave the Lankan reeling with three for nine.

Burst of speed, seam and swing were all that were the seven balls.

"I'm definitely feeling very happy. Dhaka has been a lucky ground for me and this hattrick is more important for me because I did it with the new ball and, off course, my father is here to witness that," said the beaming Pakistan captain after the match.

"I never dreamt of such a day. But I believe it was lucky for me ... and probably it was my father who is also lucky to see my performance," he said.

A beaming Chowdhury Akram, the senior, was sitting alongside Wasim as the press mobbed his famous son to record his comments.

"This a proud moment for me. I missed the hattrick at Lahore but fortunately I could be present here to watch this one," said the Lahore-based bearded man, on his first trip to Dhaka.

Only two other bowlers did it twice in the 123 years of Test cricket. Australian TJ Mattews achieved the unique feat of performing two hattricks in one Test against South Africa at Manchester way back in 1912.

However, H Trumble, another Australian, was the first bowler to claim two hattricks, that too against England at Melbourne in 1901-02 and 1903-04 seasons.

Only 22 bowlers - nine from England, seven from Australia, three from West Indies, and one each from South Africa, New Zealand and Pakistan - could have achieved a hattrick so far.

Akram meanwhile is the only bowler to do the three-stroke magnum opus in both forms of cricket - Test and one-day international. He also holds the enviable record of doing it twice in Tests and one-dayers.

Akram's unique feat only overshadowed the double centuries by Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamamul Haq, which had left Sri Lanka on the brink of a heavy defeat. Ijaz made 211 and Inzamam an unbeaten 200 as Pakistan amassed 594 shortly before the close of play.

Opening the Pakistan attack with young speedster Shoaib Akhter, Akram then stepped in to seize the spotlight as Sri Lanka, needing 364 to avoid an innings defeat, slipped to 9-3 in 13 deliveries before stumps were drawn for the day.

Akram had Avishka Gunawardena caught brilliantly in the slips by Shahid Afridi off his fifth delivery. His sixth ball broke night-watchman Chaminda Vaas' off-stumps in two pieces.

After an over from Shoaib at the other end, Akram found his third victim in Mahela Jayawardena for the rare hattrick. The Sri Lankan, who hit a double hundred against India, gave a simple catch in the slips.

The umpires called off play at that stage, much to the relief of the Sri Lankans, who had to spend the whole day under the hot mid-March sun.

''It was quite unbelievable,'' said a delighted Akram, who took his Test haul to 378 to capture the fifth position on the all-time leading wicket-taker's list, pushing West Indian great fast bowler Malcolm Marshall (376) down to the sixth place.

"After taking two wickets, my plan was to bowl between the stumps and let the batsman do the mistake. And he (Jayawardane) made the mistake," said an all-smiling skipper.

When asked to draw a comparison between the two hattricks, the 32-year-old man from Lahore said, "Hattrick is hattrick. This one is little better because this was (done) with the new-ball and (against) the top order."

Veteran West Indian quick Courtney Walsh, with 408 wickets, and Akram are the two likely candidates to topple Indian Kapil Dev's world record of 434 Test-haul. Can the Pakistani get there?

''I think Walsh will certainly get there and I hope I can follow suit.

"I have got another 50-odd wickets to get there. I'm getting older. It's getting more difficult now. But I hope I would be able to do that. Let's see what happens,'' Akram said.

Source :: The Bangladesh Daily Star (https://www.dailystarnews.com)