5 interesting stats from WI v SL 1st T20I as Pollard hits 6 sixes in an over and Dananjaya takes hat-trick
Kieron Pollard's West Indies registered a 4-wicket win over Sri Lanka to take a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
The Windies captain was the Man of the Match for his rapid 11-ball 38 - a knock which saw him hit 6 sixes in an over off Akila Dananjaya. Interestingly, the spinner had taken a hat-trick in his previous over by dismissing the southpaw trio of Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle and Nicholas Pooran.
Here are 5 interesting stats and records from the 1st T20I between WI and SL.
5 interesting stats and records from the 1st T20I between WI and SL
#1 Akila Dananjaya became the 3rd SL bowler to take a hat-trick in T20Is
Lasith Malinga has accomplished the feat twice - against New Zealand in September 2019 and against Bangladesh in April 2017. Thisara Perera also scalped a hat-trick, against India in February 2016.
#2 Akila Dananjaya registered the worst figures for a bowler in T20Is after picking up a hat-trick (3/62 in 4 overs)
In total, 14 hat-tricks have been taken in T20I cricket. Of these hat-tricks, Dananjaya's figures of 3/62 against West Indies are the worst.
The spinner's first over went for 8 runs as Lendl Simmons hit a six off the last ball, and the second over saw a hat-trick flanked by a boundary on either side. Dananjaya's third over - the last of the powerplay - comprised the the ill-fated six balls that were deposited over the boundary, and his figures read 3/53 after 3 overs.
Jason Holder joined in on the fun in Dananjaya's fourth over, smashing a six straight down the ground (the 7th six in a row off the spinner's bowling).
Needless to say, Dhananjaya became the first bowler to take a hat-trick and be hit for 6 sixes in an over.
#3 Kieron Pollard became the third player to hit 6 sixes in an over in international cricket
West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard follows Herschelle Gibbs (against Netherlands in 2007, ODI) and Yuvraj Singh (against England in 2007, T20I) on the list of players who've hit 6 sixes in an over in international cricket.
The first three balls from Dananjaya were right in Pollard's arc. The burly right-hander dispatched them for a trio of sixes over the straight boundary, and followed it up with a cracking slog-sweep over deep mid-wicket.
Pollard then pumped a shortish ball over long-on before capping off his incredible feat with an effortless flicked six over deep mid-wicket.
#4 WI registered the highest powerplay score in T20I cricket
On the back of Pollard's 6 sixes in the sixth over, WI registered the highest powerplay score in T20I cricket (98/5). Lendl Simmons (26 off 15) and Evin Lewis (28 off 10) were the other contributors for WI in the powerplay.
The previous record was held by Ireland, who managed 93, incidentally against WI. Kevin O'Brien and Paul Stirling were the wreckers-in-chief on that occasion.
#5 WI hit the most sixes in a T20I chase below 150
WI had to chase only 132 against SL in the 1st T20I, and they did so with the help of 13 sixes - the most in a chase below 150 in the format. Pollard cleared the boundary 6 times, with Holder and Simmons doing so on 2 occasions. Evin Lewis hit 3 sixes as well. In contrast, SL hit only 3 sixes in the first innings.