What Is Hat Trick In Cricket

A hat trick in cricket happens when a bowler takes three wickets with three consecutive deliveries in a match. To date, just 49 hat-tricks have ever been recorded in Tests, 52 in ODIs, and 84 in T20 internationals as of early 2026. If you’ve watched a third batsman walk off, heads down, and the crowd utterly loses it, then you know what it feels like.

Whether you’re a fan or new to the cricket world, stay with us to learn more. This guide explains hat trick meaning in cricket, the exact rules around what counts, the different types, India's most memorable hat-tricks, and the global legends who made the achievement their own.

Hat Trick Meaning in Cricket

It means a single bowler takes three wickets in three successive deliveries without another legal ball in between. It doesn’t have to be in the same over or even in the same innings. If the balls are back-to-back for that bowler in one match, it counts.

Where Did the Term Come From?

The phrase originated in September 1858 in Sheffield, England. Surrey professional H. H. Stephenson, playing for the All-England Eleven against the twenty-two of Hallam at Hyde Park Ground, took three wickets on three consecutive deliveries. The crowd was so delighted that they passed a hat around the ground and collected money to buy him a new one as a gift. That spontaneous gesture gave the achievement its name.

The phrase 'hat trick' first appeared in print in the Chelmsford Chronicle in 1865. From cricket, the term spread to football and hockey, and eventually became standard across virtually every sport in which a player achieves the same feat three times in a row. One of the most universal phrases in global sport was born from a generous crowd in Victorian England.

Interestingly, the term in the broader sense also covers a team winning the same competition three years in a row. Australia did exactly that at the World Cup in 1999, 2003, and 2007. But in commentary and everyday usage, the term almost always refers to the bowling achievement.

Hat Trick Rules: What Counts and What Does Not

The rules around the hat trick ball in cricket are clear, but a few details catch people off guard. Here is exactly what qualifies.

• Any three consecutive wickets by the same bowler in the same match. The three balls can span two overs or two innings. The sequence simply cannot be broken by another valid delivery.

• Valid modes of dismissal: bowled, caught, LBW (leg before wicket), stumped, hit wicket, and handled ball all count as the bowler's dismissal.

What does not count: 

• A run out is a fielding dismissal and is not credited to the bowler. Wide balls and no-balls also reset the sequence. So a bowler who takes a wicket, then concedes a wide, then takes two more wickets has not achieved a hat trick. The wide ball breaks the run of consecutive legal deliveries.

Even when the potential hat trick ball in cricket falls at the start of a new innings (with a completely different batting lineup), the achievement still counts. This makes the third delivery so extraordinarily tense: the whole ground knows what is at stake, regardless of what session or innings it falls in. Before you venture into online cricket betting, it’s important to understand these rules.

Types of Hat Tricks in Cricket

Not all hat tricks are cut from the same cloth. Here are a few variations:

Standard

Three consecutive wickets by one bowler - the rarest individual bowling achievement, and the one that earns a permanent place in scorecards.

Double 

This is four wickets in four consecutive balls, two overlapping hat-tricks completed simultaneously. Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka is the only player to achieve a double this twice in international cricket: against South Africa in the 2007 ODI World Cup and again in 2019 against New Zealand in a T20.

Team 

This occurs when three wickets fall on three consecutive deliveries, but the wickets are shared among different bowlers rather than claimed by one. The term covers any three consecutive dismissals in the same over or across overs, regardless of which bowler or fielder is responsible. That’s why a runout can count in a team hat-trick. If you want to get even more involved, cricket betting sites like 1xBet let you bet on match results, milestones, and all kinds of tournament specials. 

Indian Bowlers Who Took Hat Tricks in International Cricket

India has produced some of the most memorable hat tricks in cricket moments across all three formats. The table below captures every Indian bowler to achieve the feat in international cricket, along with the context that made each one special.

Chetan Sharma's 1987 hat trick against New Zealand made history twice over: it was the first instance by an Indian in ODI and the first ever taken at a World Cup. All three wickets (Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith, and Ewan Chatfield) were bowled.

Harbhajan Singh's 2001 Test hat trick at Eden Gardens is arguably the most iconic in Indian history. He removed Ricky Ponting (LBW), Adam Gilchrist (LBW), and Shane Warne (caught) in a spell that shifted the momentum of one of the greatest Test matches ever played. 

Irfan Pathan's Karachi hat trick in 2006 stands alone in Test lore: Salman Butt (caught), Younis Khan (LBW), and Mohammad Yousuf (bowled), all in the very first over of the match, the only time in Test history this has happened. One of the greatest moments in Indian Cricket history occurred during a World Cup match against Afghanistan, where Mohammed Shami took 3 wickets in the last over whilst defending only 16 runs. 

Most Famous Hat Tricks in Cricket History

Outside India, there are very few such significant moments in international cricket.

Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka)

He is the current record holder for the most hat-tricks in one-day internationals. He achieved this with three such instances in a one-day match only. However, it was against South Africa during the 2007 World Cup that he accomplished his double hat trick (four wickets in four balls), the single most damaging over in the history of one-day international cricket. 

In the T20 format as well, he is also among the very few players who have achieved this, making him the best death bowler of the last generation.

Wasim Akram (Pakistan) 

He is the only bowler in history to have completed two in both Test and one-day formats. Therefore, he has achieved four international hat tricks.

His ability to bowl at speed whilst still being able to swing the ball very late has made him a perennial contender for every team he played against for more than 20 years. No other bowler has matched his number of hat-tricks throughout all formats with all countries combined.

Merv Hughes

December 1988 saw one of the most unique hat-tricks in Test cricket history, with Merv Hughes (Australia) achieving this against the West Indies. With the last ball of the first over, he got rid of Curtly Ambrose. His next delivery led to the dismissal of Patrick Patterson, thereby concluding the West Indies' first innings. 

When he returned for the second innings, he took Gordon Greenidge's wicket with his first delivery, securing an unprecedented hat-trick across three different overs and a break between sessions of play. It remains the sole example. 

H.H. Stephenson

He is at the crux of it all, whose exploits gave cricket the moniker 'hat-trick'. His remarkable achievement of taking three consecutive wickets during a match in Sheffield in 1858 remains part of our cricketing heritage. Every time a bowler takes their 3rd wicket from 3 consecutive deliveries, they pay homage to Stephenson's contribution to the game.

Conclusion

Whether it’s the IPL or a nerve-racking Test, a hat trick in cricket is the most exciting thing. It takes rhythm, and perhaps a touch of luck: three perfect deliveries, three batsmen back to the pavilion, and a stadium on fire. So the next time you see a bowler warming up with two wickets to his name, ready for the third one, you are in for something special.