From Praveen Kumar to Harshal Patel: A glimpse at all the three hat-tricks claimed by RCB bowlers

For every single bowler out there plying their trade in the fast lane of cricket, a hat-trick is a very special moment. When it comes to the glittering antiquity of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, there have been three of them and all three have led the Challengers to a memorable outing.

From the inimical pastures of speed’s most intimidating incarnation to an almost unsolvable maze of devastating turners, the three hat-tricks are a blazing ode to the Challengers’ charismatic bowling exploits over the years.

As we move one day closer to the fifteenth edition of the tournament, let us take a stroll down memory lane where we would bring you the three hattricks taken by the Royal Challengers.

Praveen Kumar versus Rajasthan Royals, 2010, Bengaluru

The Challengers were already riding roughshod over the Royals as the team struggled to shirk off the initial manacles. It was the 17th over when Praveen Kumar was reintroduced to the attack. Teetering at 80 for 4, the Royals had to get a move going before it was too late. After the first ball of the over going way beyond the tramlines of the surface, the second ball was lifted beyond the mid-on fielder by Martyn as it raced down to the ropes. 

Stoked by an intent to issue a string counterblast, Kumar came back with a menacing yorker that barreled through the defence of the Australian great and left his timbre rattled. The next to follow suit was debutant Sumit Narwal. A quick bouncer left the incoming Narwal unsettled as his half-hearted pull landed in the safe arms of Manish Pandey even though the ball was juggled a couple of times. The medium-fast bowler completed his hattrick with another peach as a straight ball from Kumar went through the defence of Paras Dogra and his middle-stump went for a toss.

Samuel Badree versus Mumbai Indians, 2017, Bengaluru

One of the finest in the world back then, Samuel Badree shocked the Mumbai Indians as he left them wobbling at 7 for 4. Despite the fact, RCB couldn’t secure a win from that position, the Caribbean leg-spinner left the world in awe of his enigmatic turners. Chasing 143, Mumbai Indians were in early trouble. Stuart Binny claimed the big scalp of Jos Butler early that triggered a landslide. 

The first victim of Badree’s insoluble turn was Parthiv Patel as he failed to read the former’s googly, miscuing his stroke straight into the arms of Chris Gayle. The Caribbean’s following delivery was a low full-toss that was caught comfortably by Mandeep Singh as Mitchell McClenaghan ended up holing out to long-on. Badree completed his hat-trick in style as a good length googly on the off-stump crashed through the gateway between Rohit Sharma’s bat and pads onto his stumps.

Harshal Patel versus Mumbai Indians, Dubai, 2021

The first Indian bowler to claim 32 wickets in a single IPL season, Harshal Patel hammered the Mumbai Indians for the second time in 2021 after his fifer in the opener. Chasing 166, Mumbai was 105 for 5 from 15 overs with two of their most explosive batters at the crease. Kohli decided to resort to Harshal to get the job done and the medium-fast bowler’s following heroics was a microcosm of the entire season’s brilliance. 

After a wide to start with, Harshal brought out the scrambled seam ball that was pitched fuller. Completely misreading the pace, Pandya went for a glory shot and Kohli completed a decent take, running back to the extra cover. Kieron Pollard was left completely gobsmacked as Harshal’s following ball was drifting down the leg from an initial glimpse but took a menacing death wobble in its final stage as it angled back in by whiskers, kissing the leg-stump in its flight path. Rahul Chahar was the final victim of Harshal’s hat-trick as he played an extraneous stroke, trying to clip a dipping full-toss to the offside. Missing the line, the ball crashed onto his pads, sending the Challengers into an explosion of delirious frenzy.