Joe Denly became the first player to score a century and record a hat-trick in the same match, leading his side Kent to a remarkable 6-run win over Surrey at the Oval, London.
India’s Yuvraj Singh was the first to score a half-century and record a hat-trick in a T20 match in IPL 2009. Yuvraj’s feat was repeated by Pakistan’s Jannisar Khan in 2010 in Pakistan Domestic T20 and England’s David Willey in the 2013 England T20 Cup Final but Denly’s superlative effort surpassed them all.
Denly scripted an astonishing turn around for Kent, picking up a hat-trick in the 13th over of the Surrey innings, when they were cruising at 135 for 3, needing only 39 runs in 35 deliveries.
Denly first got Rinky Clarke stumped for 11 with a beauty and then accounted for Jamie Smith and Mathew Pilans to complete his hat-trick. Baffled by the suddenness of the incident, the Surrey middle order crumbled under pressure, handing a six-run win to the visitors Kent.
Denly, bowling his off-spins returned with figures of 3 for 31 in his four overs.
Earlier, Denly, opening the batting, smashed his fourth T20 century, powering Kent to a competitive 173 for six. Denly’s 102-run effort came off 62 balls boosted by two sixes and 12 fours.