Everyone was so happy to see me getting early wickets again - Irfan Pathan recalls his hat-trick
After Jasprit Bumrah's hat-trick, Irfan Pathan couldn't help but recall his own hat-trick by saying that everyone was happy seeing him back to his rhythm. Pathan has also added that the ball was doing exactly what he wanted it to which made it one of his favourite moments in international cricket.
After Harbhajan Singh became the first Indian to take a hat-trick in Test cricket, Irfan Pathan made the Indians revisit the glory days when he dismissed Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf on the first day of the Karachi Test in 2006 to become the second Indian to do so. Although India went on to lose the game by a humongous margin of 341 runs, Irfan's hat-trick remained a landmark event in Indian cricket history. On a personal front, Irfan, who was struggling for rhythm in the preceding matches, showed signs of impeccable form after that. In an interview to ToI, the left-arm pacer recalled that morning in Karachi and how the players reacted to that.
"I am really glad that Jasprit Bumrah has joined us in the hat-trick club. There is nothing better than someone like Bumrah achieving this feat. He is a very special bowler and deserves to enjoy the spotlight. As far as memories of my hat-trick are concerned, it will be in my top-3 moments as an India cricketer for sure. I remember we had flat pitches in the two Test matches before my hat-trick in Karachi.
"All the bowlers, including Shoaib Akhtar, were getting hammered. So when we turned up in Karachi, it was a coldish morning and we were going to bowl first. I wanted to prove a point to myself. I had done well with the bat in the first two Tests and even saved a follow-on in the second Test with a score of 90. But I wanted to step up with the ball in Karachi," Pathan added.
After insipid bowling performances in Lahore and in the first innings at Faisalabad, theories were floating around about Pathan's technique, action and attitude, and he needed a performance to silent many in Karachi. Although Kamran Akmal played one fine Test innings - his best by a margin and one of the finest in India-Pakistan Tests - to swing the momentum in Pakistan's favour. Talking about the moment, Irfan added that everyone was happy by seeing him make a stunning comeback from bad form.
"As soon as I bowled my first ball that morning, I knew that the ball was coming out perfectly. When I got the wicket of Salman Butt off the fourth ball, it felt like the ball was doing exactly what I wanted it to do. It was most important to get Younis Khan out. He was in tremendous form.
"The next wicket was Mohammad Yousuf. He was a great player for Pakistan, but I enjoyed bowling against him. The ball had so much curve, and he had no answer to it. I remember how Yuvraj took me on his shoulders and everyone was so happy to see me back to getting early wickets," the Baroda pacer, who is playing for Jammu and Kashmir now as a professional, added.
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