Irfan Pathan hat trick: Reminiscing Pathan's heroics against Pakistan
On January 29, 2006, Irfan Pathan etched his name in the record books and left an indelible mark on the hearts of cricket aficionados in India with a resplendent hat-trick against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Those were the days when politics/diplomatic stand-offs left the game and India-Pakistan matches became regular affairs. However, the intensity and hype surrounding the games meant that expectations shot through the roof as usual. In our flashback segment, we revisit the events of one such unforgettable clash between the two Asian giants at the National Stadium in Karachi.
#5 A perfect set-up to Salman Butt
India, under Rahul Dravid‘s captaincy, had drawn the first two Tests of the series on lifeless pitches in Lahore and Faisalabad with the latter one featuring MS Dhoni’s maiden century. In the winner-takes-all clash at the bastion of Pakistan cricket, they won a handy toss on a surface possessing a semblance of grass cover.
The foggy and humid weather conditions provided an apt setting for swinging the new-ball. Irfan kept opener Salman Butt on his toes by moving the ball away from him. In the fourth delivery of the over, he squared-up the left-hander with one closer to the stumps and took his outside edge. Dravid, India’s greatest ever slip fielder, completed a smart catch.