Bangladeshi fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza delivered a remarkable last over in the Dhaka Premier League by taking four wickets in four balls as his side Abahani Limited recorded a thrilling 11-run win over Agrani Bank at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
This was only the seventh such instance in the history of List A cricket. The feat has been achieved only once in international cricket when Lasith Malinga stunned South Africa with four in four in the 2007 World Cup.
This is the first time Mortaza has recorded a hat-trick in List A cricket as well.
With 13 runs to defend in the final over, Mortaza used change of pace to deceive the batsmen on all four occasions as he bundled out the opposition, and finished with figures of 6/44. The batsmen he dismissed were Dhiman Ghosh (well-set at 46 off 40 balls), Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, and Fazle Rabby - all four were caught.
“My performance is helping me prepare for the rest of the year,” Mortaza was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. “With the old ball, my strength is the cutter and it is with this delivery that I took the last four wickets. There’s always pressure on the bowler. I was bowling with the third-man up so an edge was going to go for four. I thought of pushing him back but then again, being positive is very important in these situations.”
Mortaza, who doesn’t play the longest and shortest formats of the game, was most recently in action for Bangladesh in the tri-series involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. With no ODI cricket for the Tigers till July, Mortaza is playing in the DPL to retain his rhythm and has been in fine form. His figures in the tournament read: 4/49, 0/12, 0/63, 5/29, 3/37, 4/41, 6/44. His 25 wickets have come at a bowling average of 11.92.