The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the toughest T20 leagues in the world. And players need to perform at their best to conquer their opponents.
In that process, many players have etched some unique records to their names. One such record is scoring a century and taking a hat-trick in the league.
A player scoring a century or bagging a hat-trick is a significant achievement. But a single player doing both is a momentous feat, showcasing their all-round abilities.
A few notable players have attained this record in the cash-rich league. So, let’s look at the players with a century and a hat-trick in IPL history.
1. Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma was the first player to achieve the rare feat of scoring a century and taking a hat-trick in the IPL.
It’s quite astonishing to see that Rohit Sharma has picked up a hat-trick in the league. His superb bowling effort dates back to the 2009 season, when he played for the Deccan Chargers.
It was a league game against the Mumbai Indians (MI), a team that Rohit would later go on to lead to 5 IPL titles. MI was chasing 146 and was positioned at 100/4 at the end of the 15th over.
Then Rohit came to bowl his first over and dismissed Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh on the last 2 balls. He resumed his spell in the 18th over, wherein he got JP Duminy’s wicket on the first delivery to complete his only IPL hat-trick. On the third delivery, he got Saurabh Tiwary stumped out to end up with the figures of 4 for 6.
3 years later, in 2012, the Hitman brought up his maiden IPL century, this time while representing the Mumbai Indians. Coming to bat at No. 3 against the Kolkata Knight Riders, Rohit scored an unbeaten 109 runs off 60 balls. His thunderous knock came at a strike rate of 181.66, which included 12 fours and 5 sixes.
Thus far, Rohit has scored 2 centuries in the IPL, with the second coming after a 12-year gap in 2024.
In a match against rivals Chennai Super Kings (CSK), the prolific opener scored an unbeaten 105 in 63 balls while chasing the target of 207 runs. However, he couldn’t take his side home, as MI lost the match by 20 runs.
Also Read | 5 Greatest Batsmen of All Time in IPL History
2. Shane Watson
Shane Watson, one of the best all-rounders in IPL history, has notched up 4 hundreds and a hat-trick in the league. Out of the 4 tons, he scored 2 each for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
The Australian all-rounder brought up his maiden IPL century in the 2013 season while playing for RR. He accumulated 101 runs in 61 deliveries while opening the innings against CSK.
Watson’s second IPL hundred came against KKR in 2015, when he scored 104 runs. While his third (106) and fourth (117*) tons came in the 2018 season for CSK.
His third one came against his former team Rajasthan, and the last one was against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the 2018 final, which helped CSK win by 8 wickets.
Watson bagged his only IPL hat-trick in 2014 between his first and second hundred. His hat-trick is also similar to Rohit’s, as it spanned across 2 overs.
During a game against SRH, Watson came to bowl for the first time in the 4th over and got Shikhar Dhawan cleaned bowled on the last delivery. He had to wait for 12 overs to get another over.
But as soon as he got the ball in the 17th over, he got rid of Moises Henriques and Karn Sharma on the first 2 deliveries. Watson completed his hat-trick and returned with figures of 3 for 13 in 2 overs.
Shane Watson is the only player to have a century and a hat-trick against the same opposition (SRH) in the IPL.
Also Read | The 5 Best All-Round Performances in IPL
3. Sunil Narine
Sunil Narine became the third batter to score a century and bag a hat-trick in the IPL. The Caribbean bowling all-rounder completed this feat in 2024.
Unlike Rohit and Watson, the off-spinner picked up his hat-trick in a single over against Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2013. In the 15th over, Narine spun his web across the KXIP batters.
On the fourth delivery, he scalped David Hussey’s wicket. Then he caught and bowled Azhar Mahmood for a duck before cleaning up Gurkeerat Singh Mann’s off stump to grab a hat-trick. Narine wrapped his 4-over spell with 3 wickets by conceding 33 runs.
Apart from being a proficient spinner, Narine has also shown his penchant for scoring quick-fire runs while opening the batting. His fireworks were on display against the Rajasthan Royals on April 16, 2024.
Narine was on a roll in a batting paradise at the Eden Gardens, taking bowlers to the cleaners. He brought up his maiden IPL and T20 century by scoring 109 runs off 56 balls at an impeccable strike rate of 194.64.
Unfortunately, Narine’s hat-trick and century came in a losing cause as KKR lost both games.
Leave a Reply