Cricket fans witnessed a rare and thrilling moment on Thursday as history was created in the West Indies-Afghanistan T20I series. For the first time ever in a bilateral men’s T20I series between full-member nations, two different players picked up hat-tricks in the same series, turning an already exciting contest into a memorable one.
The latest chapter was written at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium during the third T20I, where West Indies fast bowler Shamar Springer delivered a sensational performance. Although West Indies had already lost the series 2-0, they finally had something to celebrate. Batting first, they posted a modest total of 151 for 7, setting Afghanistan a target that still looked achievable.
Afghanistan were cruising at 127 for 4 when Shamar Springer was handed the ball for the 19th over. What followed changed the game completely. In three consecutive deliveries, Shamar Springer dismissed Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan and Shahidullah Kamal, suddenly putting the brakes on Afghanistan’s chase. His spell not only shifted the momentum but also sealed a 15-run consolation win for West Indies. Shamar Springer finished with impressive figures of four wickets for 20 runs and etched his name into the record books.
Here is the video in which you can see Shamar Springer taking hat-trick:
https://x.com/FanCode/status/2014408184749084751
Click to watch this video directly on X
After the match, Shamar Springer spoke about how special the moment felt, sharing that it was a proud milestone to become only the third West Indies player to claim a T20I hat-trick, following Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd. He explained that his focus was on staying calm, sticking to his plans and executing his skills by forcing batters to play towards the bigger side of the ground.
The series had already seen a hat-trick earlier, courtesy of Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman. In the second T20I, Mujeeb ur Rahman struck twice at the end of one over by removing Evin Lewis and Johnson Charles and then completed his hat-trick by dismissing Brandon King on the first ball of his next over.
While there have been rare cases of multiple hat-tricks in a single T20I series before, such as those involving Sheraz Sheikh and Waseem Abbas for Malta and Belgium, this was the first time it happened between two full-member teams. The only comparable recent feat came during ICC tournaments, including Pat Cummins’ back-to-back hat-tricks in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
What a series it was!
