"CSK mein aate hi kamaaal karna shuru" - Fans react to Shreyas Gopal's hat-trick featuring Hardik Pandya & Krunal Pandya in SMAT 2024
Karnataka's leg spinner Shreyas Gopal continued his stellar form in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024 as he claimed a hat-trick in the team's Group B fixture against Baroda on Tuesday, December 3.
The experienced bowler dismissed Baroda's opener Shashwat Rawat in the first ball of the 11th over. He followed it up by dismissing Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya for golden ducks off successive deliveries to complete a hat-trick.
Gopal was the pick of the Karnataka bowlers in the encounter, registering wonderful figures of 4-0-19-4. The 31-year-old has made a significant impact with the ball this season, bagging 10 wickets from five outings at an economy rate of 5.30.
Gopal was signed by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for ₹30 lakh at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction last month.
Following his hat-trick against Baroda, many fans took to social media to suggest that Shreyas Gopal has come into his own since being roped in by the Chennai-based franchise.
Here are some of the top reactions:
A few fans also reckoned that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) think tank missed a trick by not going after 'local boy' Shreyas Gopal at the IPL 2025 auction.
"Unfortunately, Shreyas Gopal is going to find it tough to get a game at CSK. Did RCB miss a trick by not bidding for him? Local boy, wrist spinner, can also bat well, has been in good form in Maharaja Trophy also. Feel they missed a trick?" wrote a fan.
"It's usual thing for RCB," commented another.
"Its deliberate. RCB will never pick players who do well in Chinnaswamy," chimed in yet another.
Shreyas Gopal's heroics were in vain as Baroda ultimately secured a four-wicket victory. The Krunal Pandya-led side successfully chased down the 170-run target to complete their fifth win of the tournament.
It is worth mentioning that Gopal was part of the Mumbai Indians (MI) squad in IPL 2024. He bagged three wickets across as many outings at an economy rate of 9.57.
Shreyas Gopal has an IPL hat-trick to his name as well
Shreyas Gopal was a pivotal cog in Rajasthan Royals' (RR) bowling unit in IPL 2019. With 20 wickets from 14 matches, he was his team's leading wicket-taker in the edition.
The crafty spinner delivered inspired performances against RCB that season. He was the Player of the Match when the two sides locked horns at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, recording figures of 4-1-12-3.
He also stole the show with his bowling exploits in the reverse fixture at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, clinching a hat-trick. Impressively, Gopal's victims were star batters like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Marcus Stoinis.