First such feat in the opening over of an innings in tournament's 88 years
AHMEDABAD: Three wickets in the first over of a multi-day game transports any Indian cricket aficionado to memories of Irfan Pathan's similar exploits against Pakistan in Karachi in 2006.
On Tuesday, however, the opposition was neither the neighbours nor the venue the port city. Batters from Delhi danced to the tune of Saurashtra captain Jaydev Unadkat's magical spell as the left-arm pacer grabbed a hat-trick in the opening over of the match in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'B' match in Rajkot, a venue generally associated with drab, high-scoring draws.
In the process, the 31-yearold scripted history by becoming the first bowler in the history of the 88-year-old domestic tournament to take a hat-trick in the first over of the championship.
At one stage, Delhi were reeling at 10/7 and faced the ignominy of being bowled out for the lowest total in the tournament's history before Hrithik Shokeen's unbeaten 68 and Shivank Vashisht's 38 hauled them to 133 in their first innings. In reply, Harvik Desai's stroke-laden ton (104*, 15x4) propelled Saurashtra to 184/1 at close.
Fresh from an impressive performance in his second Test against Bangladesh 12 years after making his debut against South Africa in Centurion, Unadkat began proceedings by first castling right-handed Dhruv Shorey with a ball that came in after pitching. Southpaw Vaibhav Rawal, who helped Delhi escape with a draw in their last match against Tamil Nadu, was the next to go as he edged an outswinger to be caught behind. The third wicket to fall was captain Yash Dhull, who was trapped in front by an inswinging delivery.
In his next over, the Saurashtra captain had Jonty Sidhu caught behind before trapping Lalit Yadav to leave Delhi at 5/6. He then had Lakshay Thareja leg before wicket in the fifth over. Unadkat, who finished with figures of 12-1-39-8, returned after lunch to dismiss Vashisht and Kuldip Yadav off consecutive deliveries to bowl Delhi out for a paltry 133.
Saurashtra coach Niraj Odedra heaped praise on Unadkat. "He is reaping the reward of all the hard work he has put in. He loves bowling with the red ball. He got his chance against Bangladesh, took three wickets and showed his skills today."
