South African pacer Kagiso Rabada joined Brett Lee, Curtis Campher, and Wanindu Hasaranga as bowlers with T20 World Cup hat-tricks.
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Kagiso Rabada became the first South African bowler to score a hat-trick in the shortest format of international cricket on Saturday, when his team defeated England in the final match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 in Sharjah. England needed 14 runs from six balls to win, with Rabada bowling the final over against Eoin Morgan and Chris Woakes at the crease. The fast bowler took Woakes’ (7) wicket off the first ball and then dismissed Eoin Morgan (17) and Chris Jordan (0) to become the fourth bowler in T20 World Cup history to complete a hat-trick.
The 26-year-old now joins Brett Lee (vs Bangladesh), Curtis Campher (vs Netherlands), and Wanindu Hasaranga (vs South Africa) as bowlers with T20 World Cup hat-tricks. Former Australia pacer Lee was the first bowler to pick up a T20 World Cup hat-trick in 2007, while Scotland pacer Campher and Sri Lankan all-rounder Hasaranga both did so this year. Rabada is the 25th bowler in T20I history to achieve the feat, and the only South African to do so in both ODIs and T20Is.
He gave up just three runs for three wickets in the final over to finish with three for 48 as South Africa limited England to 179 for eight but failed to qualify for the semi-finals from Group 1. South Africa needed a win and a massive run-rate boost after Australia defeated West Indies in the previous match of the day to be the second team from Group I to make the last four. They batted with intent, and Rassie van der Dussen blasted an unbeaten 94 off 60 balls to propel South Africa to 189-2, their highest total of the tournament.
South Africa needed to limit England to 131 or fewer points to advance ahead of Australia to the semi-finals, while Eoin Morgan’s team needed only 87 points. Moeen Ali (37) and Dawid Malan (33) contributed with breezy cameos to end South Africa’s semi-final hopes, but Kagiso Rabada’s final over hat-trick limited England to 179-8, ending their tournament winning streak.
South Africa may not have managed to qualify for the semifinals of the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup. However, they have certainly bowed out of the tournament with their heads held up high, following a fine triumph against England in their final encounter of the prestigious tournament. The Proteas needed to restrict the latter to 131 runs, having posted a total of 189 runs for the loss of two wickets in order to enter the semi-finals. However, England finished with a score of 179 runs having lost eight wickets, resulting in a defeat by a margin of 10 runs.
Rassie van der Dussen and Aiden Markram smashed unbeaten half-centuries to help the team post a total of 189/2 against England. Van der Dussen accumulated 94 runs from 60 deliveries in an innings comprising of five boundaries and six sixes. The tally was accumulated at a strike rate of 156.67. Markram was supremely impressive as well, smashing 52 runs off 25 balls with the innings including two fours and four maximums. Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali were the pick of the bowlers for England, chipping in with a dismissal apiece.
