Sami bowls into record books

On 9 March 2002, during 3rd day's play in the 2nd Asian Test Championship Final between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium, Mohammad Sami, playing in only his 3rd Test, became the third Pakistani after Wasim Akram and Abdul Razzaq and 27th bowler overall, to claim the 30th hat-trick in Test cricket. The right arm fast bowler grabbed the last three Sri Lankan wickets. He dismissed Buddhika Fernando, Nuwan Zoysa, both leg before and Muttiah Muralitharan, bowled off consecutive deliveries in his 37th over.

With this hat-trick Sami also joined Wasim Akram as the only two bowlers with hat-tricks in both forms of the game so far. Wasim Akram, has two hat-tricks in Test cricket and he same number in LOIs. While Sami had a hat-trick in the 2nd ODI against West Indies at Sharjah on 15 February 2002.

The current list includes nine Englishmen, eight Australians, three West Indians, three Pakistanis and one bowler each from South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and India. No bowlers from Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have claimed a hat-trick in Test matches so far.

It was 30th hat-trick in Tests. Australia's Thomas James Matthews and Hugh Trumble along with Pakistan's Wasim Akram are the only bowlers to have performed this feat twice.

The first bowler to perform a hat-trick in Test cricket was Australian, Frederick Robert Spofforth who dismissed three in a row in his six for 48 against England at Melbourne in 1878-79. Spofforth's victims were V Royle, F Mackinnon and T Emmett.

At 21 years and 13 days, Mohammed Sami is the third youngest player after Pakistan's Abdul Razzaq to achieve this feat. Abdul Razzaq who was 20 years and 201 days old when he took three wickets in a row against Sri Lanka at Galle on 21 June 2000 and India's Harbhajan Singh who was 20 years and 251 days old when he achieved the same against Australia at Calcutta on 11 March 2000.

Hattrick heroes in Test cricket

Notes:

All data updated to 20.03.2002