After a difficult few months, Pakistani cricketer Shadab Khan recovered his form. Shadab Khan was among the players under fire for his subpar effort as the Babar Azam-led team failed to go past the group stage of the T20 World Cup. But in the Colombo Strikers’ inaugural match of the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL), the leg-spinner took centre stage, claiming a hat-trick and securing victory for the team captained by Thisara Perera.
Even though they lost a few early wickets, the Kandy Falcons were still in the hunt when Shadab entered the field for the match’s fifteenth over. He took back-to-back wickets of Agha Salman and Pawan Rathnayake, dismissing Falcons captain Wanindu Hasaranga for 25 runs. With that, he finished his hat-trick and made history as the second bowler in the LPL to do so.
Shadab Khan was declared Player of the Match despite conceding 22 runs in his four overs.
He not only scored a hat-trick but also got rid of Kamindu Mendis early in the match. He made a valuable contribution with the bat as well, scoring 20 runs off of 17 balls to help Colombo reach a respectable first innings total of 198 runs. When Shadab went to bat in the midst of the game, he said that the pitch appeared slower and disclosed his talk with captain Perera.
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Shadab Khan achieved a hat trick in the LPL, taking 4 wickets for 22 runs in his 4 overs.
— Thakur (@hassam_sajjad) July 2, 2024
“as you bowl a little slower, it was turning a little as I went to bat. It is simpler to hit the pacers if you take it deep, Shadab said to Thisara.
The all-rounder responded, “(If he knew this is just the 2nd hat trick in LPL history) I don’t know, I only know that it is my first one,” when asked about his trick.
Sadeera Samarawickrama and Muhammad Waseem had a great time in Colombo. Waseem scored 32 runs in 18 deliveries, and Samarawickrama scored 48 off just 26 balls. Colombo went to the top of the table with the victory, while Kandy fell to third.
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