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What happened on the grounds of Antigua in March 2021 gave a new definition to this saying. In the first T20 International match played between Sri Lanka and West Indies, a rare coincidence took place, which was never seen before in the cricket world.
Akila Dhananjay took a hat-trick, then in the same match Pollard hit 6 sixes.
New Delhi. If you want to see the story of going from high to high in a single match, then remember that match of Sri Lankan spinner Akila Dhananjay. Hardly any player in the history of cricket would have traveled such a journey from ‘Hero’ to ‘Zero’ within 10 minutes.
Cricket is a game of uncertainties, but what happened on the grounds of Antigua in March 2021 gave a new definition to this saying. In the first T20 International match played between Sri Lanka and West Indies, a rare coincidence took place, which was never seen before in the cricket world. At the center of this match were Sri Lankan spinner Akila Dananjaya and Caribbean power-house Kieron Pollard.
Akila’s magical spell: echoes of the hat-trick
At the beginning of the match, it seemed that this day was going to be in the name of Akila Dhananjay. In his very second over (fourth over of the innings), he broke the back of West Indies’ batting. Akila created a sensation by dismissing legends like Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran in three consecutive balls. Getting a batsman like Chris Gayle LBW on the very first ball is like a dream for any bowler. Akila became the third Sri Lankan bowler to take a hat-trick in T-20 International. Till then Akila’s figures were: 2 overs, 17 runs and 3 wickets.
Pollard’s counterattack: 6 sixes in 6 balls
The biggest drama of the match was yet to come. Akila came to bowl his next over (sixth over of the innings). West Indies captain Kieron Pollard was on strike. Akila might not have even imagined that the hat-trick he was celebrating would turn into a nightmare in the next 6 minutes. On the first ball, Pollard knelt down and hit a skyscraper six over the cow-corner. A straight ball on the second ball and Pollard sent it straight over the bowler’s head into the stands. Another hard hit over long-off on the third ball. On the fourth ball, Akila tried to change the direction, but Pollard hit a six over deep mid-wicket. Fifth ball: Same fate again, ball crosses the boundary. The noise in the stadium had increased. On the sixth and last ball, Pollard created history by hitting a six towards mid-wicket.
Unique and painful record
This one over changed the course of the match. Akila Dhananjay became the first bowler in the world to take a hat-trick and hit 6 sixes in the same match. After Yuvraj Singh and Herschelle Gibbs, Pollard became the third batsman to hit 6 sixes in an over in international cricket. This match is an example of both the cruelty and beauty of cricket, where Akila shocked the world with his art, while Pollard proved with his strength that one can make a comeback in the game at any time. Akila Dhananjay’s name is still recorded in those pages of cricket history, where in the same day he tasted victory and also suffered the bitterness of defeat.
