Sat, Feb 15, 2003 page20

• Vaas bowls up hat trick in first over

  GOOD START The Sri Lankan fast bowler got three wickets with his first three balls, was then hit for four, bowled a wide and claimed his fourth victim with the next delivery, as Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh

  • AP
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  Left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas made cricket history yesterday by claiming a hat trick off the first three balls as Sri Lanka cantered to a 10-wicket World Cup victory over Bangladesh.

  Starting the day with four wickets from five balls, Vaas returned a haul of six for 25 -- the third best figures in World Cup history -- as Sri Lanka dismissed Bangladesh for 124 in 31.1 overs.

  Openers Marvan Atapattu and skipper Sanath Jayasuriya then smashed 126 runs in 21.1 overs as the Sri Lankans raced to the top of the Group B standings by clinching their second successive victory.

  

  Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka's opening bowler is overjoyed yesterday after taking a world record four wickets in his first over against Bangladesh at the cricket World Cup, at Pietermaritzburg Oval, 90km from Durban, South Africa. Vaas got a hat trick with his first three balls. Sri Lanka won by 10 wickets.

  PHOTO: AFP

  Atapattu struck 11 boundaries in his unbeaten 69 from 71 deliveries, while Jayasuriya's 57-ball knock of 55 contained one six and seven boundaries.

  Man-of-the-Match Vaas dismissed Hannan Sarker, Mohammed Asharful and Ehsanul Haque to became the first bowler in international cricket to claim a hat trick off the first three deliveries after Jayasuriya won the toss and put Bangladesh in to bat under an overcast sky.

  Opener Sarker was bowled first ball shaping for a wide drive, Asharful offered a a soft return catch and Haque edged an outswinger into the hands of Mahela Jayawardene at second slip to leave Bangladesh three down without a run on the board.

  Vaas, 29, became the third bowler to claim a hat trick in the World Cup, following Indian medium-pacer Chetan Sharma and Pakistan's offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq.

  Sharma's hat trick came against New Zealand in the 1987 World Cup and Mushtaq got recorded the feat against Zimbabwe in 1999.

  Vaas became only the third bowler after Pakistan's Wasim Akram and Mushtaq to claim two hat tricks in one-day internationals.

  He joined the select group of hat trick takers 15 months ago against Zimbabwe at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club when he got the career-best figures of eight for 19 and Zimbabwe was shot out for 37.

  The modest bowler didn't make a big deal of his achievement.

  ``I just tried to put the ball in the right spot to get the wicket and I did it,'' he said of the hat-trick ball. ``I'm not worried about records. As long as I'm fit I want to do well.''

  A small number of spectators were still to settle down in their seats as Vaas rattled the Bangladesh batting.

  By the end of the over, Vaas had also dismissed Sanwar Hossain, who hit a cover driven boundary off the first ball and faced a wide before being trapped leg before.

  Vaas went on to have opener Al Shahriar caught by Aravinda de Silva at mid-off for 10 and tailender Mashrafee Mortaza by Muttiah Muralitharan at point for 28.

  Ace spinner Muralitharan, not used to being upstaged in this manner, played his part by taking three for 25.

  For your information

  Chaminda Vaas

  ■Yesterday at World Cup took a hat trick with the first three balls of the match against Bangladesh, the first man to achieve the feat in one-dayers or in first-class cricket, before finishing with 6-25. ■ Born: Jan 27, 1974, Mattumagala, Sri Lanka. Left-arm fast-medium, hard-hitting lower-order bat. Holder of best one-day bowling figures in history -- the only man to take eight wickets in an innings. ■ One-day debut: vs. India, Rajkot, Feb 1994. 212 matches, 261 wickets, 27.81 av (includes yesterday's game), best 8-19. 64 tests, 206 wickets at 30.31, best 7-71. ■ Sri Lanka's most successful fast bowler and Muttiah Muralitharan's main sidekick. Swings ball both ways. Devout catholic who once considered becoming a priest. ■ Helped Sri Lanka win the 1996 World Cup but has not been as effective in last couple of seasons. South African conditions always likely to suit him. SOURCE:REUTERS
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