NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket has had numerous momentous feats over the decades, but few stand as tall as the hat-tricks claimed by the nation's intrepid bowlers across the three formats of the gentlemen's game.
In the long Indian cricket history, there have only been nine instances where the bowlers have claimed hat-tricks. Three of them have been in Tests while ODIs have witnessed 5 hat-tricks.
And in the shortest format, there has been a solitary hat-trick by an Indian bowler.
Here's a look at the bowlers who claimed the first-ever hat-trick for India across formats:
In the traditional format, it was the inimitable Harbhajan Singh who etched his name in history during the epochal 2001 Eden Gardens Test against Steve Waugh's redoubtable Australians.
With the visitors cruising at 252 for 4 in the first innings, Harbhajan weaved his magic, dismissing Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, and Shane Warne in successive deliveries.
Indian later came back from behind in the game -- after following-on -- to script one of the greatest wins of all time in Test cricket.
In the one-day internationals, the honor of the maiden hat-trick belongs to the mercurial Chetan Sharma.
Pitted against New Zealand at Nagpur in 1987, Sharma unleashed a devastating spell, removing Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith, and Ewen Chatfield in a mesmerizing display of swing bowling.
His virtuoso performance propelled India to an emphatic victory and forever immortalized him in India's ODI bowling history.
In Twenty20 Internationals, it was the precocious
Deepak Chahar
who blazed a trail, becoming the first Indian in men's cricket to claim a hat-trick.
Against Bangladesh at Nagpur in 2019, Chahar conjured a magical over, dismissing Shafiul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman, and Aminul Islam in India's pulsating 30-run win.
With the victory, India also clinched the three-match bilateral series 2-1.
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