New Delhi: Fast bowler Faheem Ashraf on Friday became the first Pakistani to claim a hat trick in T20Is as he pinned the final nail in the coffin of an already sorry looking Sri Lankan batting line-up.
The 23-year old created history in the 19th over of the Sri Lankan innings with the help of some swift reflexes by the Pakistani fielders.
Isuru Udana was his first victim. Hasan Ali brilliantly caught Udana over his head at short fine leg and Mahela Udawatte was also smartly snapped close to the boundary by Babar Azam.
Ashraf completed his hat trick by having Dasun Shanaka leg before wicket as Sri Lanka could only score 18 runs in the last four overs.
Ashraf, who came into limelight through his batting prowess by leading Pakistan to victory in a warm-up match against Bangladesh ahead of the Champions Trophy, used the slowness of the pitch to good effect.
He ended up with stunning figures of 3 for 16 in his three-over spell and from 106 for 1 Sri Lanka slumped to 124 for 9 in 20 overs
There is a close-knit relation between Pakistan bowlers and hat tricks as there are seven bowlers who achieved the feat before Ashraf. However, Ashraf was the first to do so in the shortest format of the game.
The most number of hat tricks belongs to former Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram, who has four altogether – 2 in ODIs and 2 in Test matches.
Pakistan chased down the 125-run target in the penultimate ball of the match to seal the series with the last match to be played in Lahore.