Top 3 hat-tricks to wrap up a cricket match

Taking a hat-trick in cricket - three wickets in consecutive balls - is the dream of every bowler. The best way a batter can finish the game is with consecutive sixes, while the best way a bowler can wrap up the contest is by taking a hat-trick.

Shabnim Ismail recently bagged a hat-trick in the closing moments of the Women's Hundred 2023 match between the Welsh Fire and Birmingham Phoenix. Ismail had to defend eight runs off the last five balls. She remained wicketless in her previous 15 deliveries and had conceded 26 runs.

Amy Jones took a single off the first ball for the Phoenix. Tess Flintoff, batting on 51, smashed the next delivery for four and then played a dot, bringing the equation down to four runs off three balls. With the scoreboard reading 134/1, Birmingham were the favorites to win.

However, Ismail bagged three wickets off the next three deliveries to help the Welsh Fire secure a dramatic three-run victory. She first castled Flintoff and then dismissed Erin Burns, who holed out. Off the last ball of the match, Issy Wong lost her stumps to Ismail as Birmingham Phoenix lost by three runs.

While it was a tremendous feat, fans should note that this was not the first time a bowler wrapped up a cricket match with a hat-trick. Let's take a look at the top three hat-tricks in the closing moments of a game.

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#1 Mohammed Shami's hat-trick helps India beat Afghanistan in 2019 Cricket World Cup

India battled Afghanistan in a group stage match of the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup at the Rose Bowl. Half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Kedar Jadhav helped the Indian team finish with 224/8 in 50 overs.

Chasing 225 for a victory, Afghanistan reached 209/7 after 49 overs. A well-set Mohammad Nabi was in the middle as Afghanistan needed 16 runs for a historic victory. Mohammed Shami bowled the final over for India.

Nabi started the over with a four off the first ball. He tried for another big hit on the second ball but could not score any runs. On the third ball, Nabi connected well but could not clear the long on boundary as Hardik Pandya took the catch in the deep to send the set batter back to the dressing room.

Aftab Alam then came out to bat with Afghanistan needing 12 runs off three balls. Shami rattled his stumps straightaway, inviting number 11 batter Mujeeb ur Rahman to the middle. The right-arm pacer hit the stumps once again to complete a hat-trick and help India win a thrilling match by 11 runs.

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#2 Deepak Chahar stuns Bangladesh

Deepak Chahar bowled the best T20I spell by any Indian bowler during a match against Bangladesh on November 10, 2019. Playing at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur, India scored 174/5 in 20 overs, riding on half-centuries from KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.

In reply, Bangladesh were 110/2 in the 12th over, with Mohammad Naim looking dangerous in the middle. Deepak Chahar then joined forces with Shivam Dube and Yuzvendra Chahal to dismantle the Bangladesh batting lineup. Bangladesh collapsed from 110/2 to 130/7 in the space of a few overs.

Chahar dismissed Shafiul Islam off the last ball of the 18th over to reduce Bangladesh to 135/8. The medium pacer came back to bowl the 20th over and bagged the wickets of Mustafizur Rahman and Aminul Islam to complete a hat-trick.

He finished with astonishing figures of 6/7 as the Indian cricket team won by 30 runs.

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#3 Michael Bracewell helps New Zealand complete an easy win

New Zealand toured Ireland last year for a few white-ball matches. During the second T20I cricket match of the series, the Blackcaps set a 180-run target for the home side. Ireland never got going in the run-chase and slumped to 45/6 in eight overs.

Mark Adair scored a 22-ball 27 and tried to take the team's score close to 100. Ireland were 91/7 in the 14th over when spin-bowling all-rounder Michael Bracewell bagged a hat-trick and bowled the Irish side out for 91.

Bracewell dismissed Adair, Barry McCarthy and Craig Young (all caught out) as New Zealand won by 88 runs. It was notavly the first over the off-spinner bowled in his T20I career.