Before the Indian Premier League (IPL) entertain the fans across the globe, the much-awaited Caribbean Premier League (CPL) is set to take the cricket lovers on a roller coaster. The fascinating T20 event will kick-off from August 18.
The 2020 season will be entirely played in Trinidad and Tobago. All the matches will be held across two stadiums, namely The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba and the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain.
Not to mention that all the games will be played behind closed doors in a bio-secure environment due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Just like the rest of T20 tournaments, the CPL has also produced tremendous batting performances along with eye-catching bowling figures which helped to create fiery duels between cricketers. There have been numerous occasions when bowlers have shown their dominance in the CPL, but only twice the fans have witnessed a moment like a hat-trick.
Rashid Khan – 2017
The notable discovery of modern-day cricket, Rashid Khan, is an absolute genius spin bowler. The leggie, who brought Afghanistan on a global map, play several leagues all around the globe and never fails to spread his scintillating magic on the cricket field.
Rashid registered history during the 2018 season of CPL when he became the first-ever bowler to scalp a hat-trick. He achieved the phenomenal feat while representing the Guyana Amazon Warriors in a crucial eliminator game against the Jamaica Tallawahs.
During the contest, the Tallawahs were cruising towards an excellent first innings total as they had already made 116 runs by the end of 14th over. However, then Rayad Emrit, the Warriors skipper, called up Rashid who completely changed the course of the match.
Rashid first sent batsman Andy McCarthy (14 off 8) to the dugout by bowling an unplayable googly. The leg-spinner bowled a flighted googly which forced McCarthy to drive towards the cover region. In the meantime, the ball went through the batsman’s defence and shattered the stumps.
Then came Jonathon Foo (0 off 1) who also faced a similar delivery and the same result happened. Rashid bowled a fuller delivery, and Jonathon tried to commit the mistake of McCarthy. He went for a drive through the off-side, but the ball had disturbed his stumps.
Rovman Powell (0 off 1), the hard-hitting batsman joined the crease as the Afghan spin-wizard was now one ball away from becoming the first player to claim a CPL hat-trick. Rashid yet again came up with his A-game and bowled a googly. Powell was unable to read the variation, and the ball thrashed the stumps. Rashid then had become the first person ever to take a hat-trick in the CPL.
Andre Russell – 2018
Rashid etched his name on record books in 2017 and in the following year, one of the most destructive batsmen and valuable all-rounders of the fascinating sport, Andre Russell got himself registered in the statistics.
During the 2018 season, the Jamaica Tallawahs captain Russell won the toss and opted to field first. However, the decision turned out to be a terrible one as the Tallawahs bowlers were taken to the cleaners by Trinbago Knight Riders batsmen featuring the likes of Brendon McCullum, Chris Lynn, and Colin Munro.
The opposition put together a massive score of 212 runs when skipper Russell decided to take the responsibility of bowling the last over as he went on to take three-on-three. McCullum who was batting at 52 welcomed Russell with a four on the first ball of the over, but on the very next delivery, the former New Zealand skipper miscued a full toss and gave an easy catch to Rovman Powell at long-on. It also ended a crucial 86-run partnership held between McCullum and Darren Bravo.
Since the strike was changed, it was Bravo’s turn to score quick runs, but in an attempt to squeeze a wide yorker, he dragged the ball onto his stumps. Bravo made 29 off 16 deliveries, and Russell was on the hat-trick.
Then came Denesh Ramdin (0 off 1), the veteran West Indies cricketer. Russell, who already bowled a yorker did a change of plan and went for a slower bouncer. Ramdin heaved it with a pull shot but couldn’t get the right elevation, and was caught at the deep mid-wicket, making Russell only the second cricketer with a CPL hat-trick.
