Hat-Tricks in ODI World Cup History

Only 11 hat-tricks have been taken in ODI World Cup history, by 10 bowlers across 13 tournaments from 1975 to 2023. A hat-trick means three wickets in three consecutive balls by the same bowler, in one match. Lasith Malinga is the only bowler with two World Cup hat-tricks, and no hat-trick was recorded at the 2023 World Cup, so the list still ends with Trent Boult’s treble at Lord’s in 2019.

That rarity is what makes the feat special. Across hundreds of World Cup matches and tens of thousands of deliveries, only 11 times has a bowler taken three wickets in three balls. This guide lists every ODI World Cup hat-trick in order, with the victims, the venues and the stories behind the most famous ones.

Complete List of ODI World Cup Hat-Tricks

No.	Bowler	Team	Opposition	Venue	Date	Victims
1	Chetan Sharma	India	New Zealand	Nagpur	31 Oct 1987	Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith, Ewen Chatfield
2	Saqlain Mushtaq	Pakistan	Zimbabwe	The Oval, London	11 Jun 1999	Henry Olonga, Adam Huckle, Pommie Mbangwa
3	Chaminda Vaas	Sri Lanka	Bangladesh	Pietermaritzburg	14 Feb 2003	Hannan Sarkar, Mohammad Ashraful, Ehsanul Haque
4	Brett Lee	Australia	Kenya	Durban	15 Mar 2003	Kennedy Otieno, Brijal Patel, David Obuya
5	Lasith Malinga	Sri Lanka	South Africa	Providence, Guyana	28 Mar 2007	Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Makhaya Ntini
6	Kemar Roach	West Indies	Netherlands	Delhi	28 Feb 2011	Pieter Seelaar, Bernard Loots, Berend Westdijk
7	Lasith Malinga	Sri Lanka	Kenya	Colombo (RPS)	1 Mar 2011	Tanmay Mishra, Peter Ongondo, Shem Ngoche
8	Steven Finn	England	Australia	Melbourne	14 Feb 2015	Brad Haddin, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Johnson
9	JP Duminy	South Africa	Sri Lanka	Sydney	18 Mar 2015	Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara, Tharindu Kaushal
10	Mohammed Shami	India	Afghanistan	Southampton	22 Jun 2019	Mohammad Nabi, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
11	Trent Boult	New Zealand	Australia	Lord’s, London	29 Jun 2019	Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc, Jason Behrendorff

Note that Malinga’s 2007 entry lists four victims. He took four wickets in four consecutive balls against South Africa, a feat beyond a hat-trick, and the fourth wicket is included for completeness. For IPL hat-tricks, see the most hat-tricks in IPL.

Hat-Tricks by Tournament

The distribution of hat-tricks across World Cup editions shows how uneven the feat is. The first three World Cups (1975, 1979 and 1983) produced none at all. Then came one in 1987, one in 1999, two in 2003, one in 2007, two in 2011, two in 2015, two in 2019, and none in 2023.

World Cup	Hat-Tricks	Bowlers
1975, 1979, 1983	0	None
1987	1	Chetan Sharma
1992, 1996	0	None
1999	1	Saqlain Mushtaq
2003	2	Chaminda Vaas, Brett Lee
2007	1	Lasith Malinga
2011	2	Kemar Roach, Lasith Malinga
2015	2	Steven Finn, JP Duminy
2019	2	Mohammed Shami, Trent Boult
2023	0	None
Total	11	10 bowlers

By team, Sri Lanka leads with three hat-tricks (Vaas once, Malinga twice). India have two (Sharma and Shami). Australia, Pakistan, West Indies, England, South Africa and New Zealand have one each.

The First: Chetan Sharma Against New Zealand, 1987

Chetan Sharma’s hat-trick against New Zealand at Nagpur on 31 October 1987 was the first in World Cup history and the first by an Indian bowler in one-day internationals. He dismissed Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield, all bowled, to complete the treble.

The significance went beyond the match. The 1987 World Cup was the first held outside England, and it was the first time the tournament had produced a hat-trick after three editions without one.

Saqlain Mushtaq Against Zimbabwe, 1999

Saqlain Mushtaq’s hat-trick at The Oval in 1999 was the first by a spinner at a World Cup. The Pakistan off-spinner dismissed Henry Olonga, Adam Huckle and Pommie Mbangwa, the last three Zimbabwean wickets, to finish the innings in style. Two of the victims were stumped by Moin Khan, a reminder of how Saqlain’s doosra drew batters out of their crease.

Saqlain’s treble was also notable because it came at the death of an innings, cleaning up the tail. That pattern, a hat-trick against lower-order batters under scoreboard pressure, would repeat in several later World Cup hat-tricks.

Chaminda Vaas and the First-Ball Hat-Trick, 2003

Chaminda Vaas produced the most extraordinary start to a match in World Cup history. Against Bangladesh at Pietermaritzburg on 14 February 2003, he took a hat-trick with the first three balls of the match, dismissing Hannan Sarkar, Mohammad Ashraful and Ehsanul Haque. No other bowler has taken a hat-trick with the first three balls of a World Cup match, and it remains the only hat-trick in the list that began in the very first over of the game.

Vaas was one of the great new-ball bowlers of his era, and this was his craft at its peak: swing, seam and relentless accuracy. Bangladesh never recovered from the opening three balls, and the match became a footnote to one of the most famous overs in cricket history.

Brett Lee Against Kenya, 2003

A month later at Durban, Brett Lee added the second hat-trick of the 2003 tournament. The Australian fast bowler dismissed Kennedy Otieno, Brijal Patel and David Obuya to complete a treble built on raw pace. Lee’s hat-trick made 2003 the first World Cup with two hat-tricks, a mark that 2011, 2015 and 2019 would later equal.

Lasith Malinga and Four Wickets in Four Balls, 2007

Lasith Malinga’s 2007 hat-trick against South Africa at Providence, Guyana, is the most famous on this list, and for good reason: it was actually four wickets in four balls. With South Africa needing just four runs to win and five wickets in hand, Malinga dismissed Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall and Jacques Kallis to complete his hat-trick, then added Makhaya Ntini with the next ball.

South Africa still won by one wicket, but Malinga had produced the most dramatic bowling spell in World Cup history. The four-in-four remains one of the rarest feats in all of cricket, and it is the reason Malinga’s 2007 performance is remembered even more than many hat-tricks that came in winning causes.

Kemar Roach Against Netherlands, 2011

Kemar Roach opened the 2011 tournament’s hat-trick account against the Netherlands at Delhi on 28 February 2011, dismissing Pieter Seelaar, Bernard Loots and Berend Westdijk. Roach’s treble was the first World Cup hat-trick by a West Indian and showed the value of genuine pace against associate opposition under lights.

Malinga’s Second Hat-Trick Against Kenya, 2011

Three days after Roach’s treble, Malinga became the only bowler with two World Cup hat-tricks. Against Kenya at Colombo on 1 March 2011, he dismissed Tanmay Mishra, Peter Ongondo and Shem Ngoche. The second hat-trick was quieter than the first, but it confirmed Malinga as the greatest World Cup hat-trick bowler of all time.

Steven Finn Against Australia, 2015

Steven Finn’s hat-trick came in the opening match of the 2015 World Cup, against Australia at Melbourne on 14 February 2015. In the final over of the Australian innings, he dismissed Brad Haddin, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Johnson. It was a bittersweet feat: Australia still won the match comfortably, and England’s tournament would end in disappointment, but Finn’s final-over treble was a reminder that hat-tricks often arrive in losing causes too.

JP Duminy Against Sri Lanka, 2015

JP Duminy’s hat-trick in the 2015 quarter-final at Sydney was the only one on this list taken in a World Cup knockout match. The South African off-spinner dismissed Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara and Tharindu Kaushal as South Africa bowled Sri Lanka out and marched into the semi-finals. Hat-tricks under knockout pressure are the rarest of the rare, and Duminy’s remains the only one achieved in a World Cup quarter-final, semi-final or final.

Mohammed Shami Against Afghanistan, 2019

Mohammed Shami’s hat-trick against Afghanistan at Southampton on 22 June 2019 was the most dramatic of the modern era. Afghanistan needed 21 runs off the final over with four wickets in hand. Shami dismissed Mohammad Nabi, Aftab Alam and Mujeeb Ur Rahman to seal an 11-run win for India and complete a hat-trick in the highest-pressure over of the match.

Shami’s yorkers in that final over were inch-perfect, and the hat-trick turned a near-certain upset into an Indian victory. It was India’s second World Cup hat-trick, 32 years after Chetan Sharma’s first, and it remains the only World Cup hat-trick taken in the final over of a successful defence.

Trent Boult Against Australia, 2019

Trent Boult completed the list a week later at Lord’s on 29 June 2019, becoming the first New Zealand bowler to take a World Cup hat-trick. He dismissed Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc and Jason Behrendorff. Like Finn’s, Boult’s treble came in a match his team lost, with Australia winning the game, but the Lord’s setting made it one of the most photographed hat-tricks in the tournament’s history.

Why World Cup Hat-Tricks Are So Rare

Three factors explain the rarity. First, batters at World Cups are the best in the world and protect their wickets carefully. Second, a hat-trick requires three consecutive deliveries to produce wickets, which means surviving batters, umpiring decisions and fielding all have to align. Third, captains often remove a bowler who has just taken two wickets in two balls, or batters play out the hat-trick ball with extreme caution, which breaks the sequence.

The spin-versus-pace split is also revealing: nine of the 11 hat-tricks were taken by fast bowlers, and only two by spinners (Saqlain Mushtaq and JP Duminy).

FAQs

Who took the first hat-trick in ODI World Cup history?

Chetan Sharma of India, against New Zealand at Nagpur in the 1987 World Cup, dismissing Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith and Ewen Chatfield, all bowled.

Which bowler has two World Cup hat-tricks?

Lasith Malinga of Sri Lanka, against South Africa in 2007 and against Kenya in 2011. His 2007 effort included four wickets in four balls.

How many hat-tricks have there been in ODI World Cups?

Eleven hat-tricks by ten bowlers across 13 tournaments from 1975 to 2023. No hat-trick was recorded at the 2023 World Cup.

Has anyone taken a hat-trick with the first three balls of a World Cup match?

Yes. Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka took a hat-trick with the first three balls of the match against Bangladesh at Pietermaritzburg in 2003.

Has there been a hat-trick in a World Cup knockout match?

Yes, one. JP Duminy took a hat-trick for South Africa against Sri Lanka in the 2015 World Cup quarter-final at Sydney.

Who took the most recent World Cup hat-trick?

Trent Boult of New Zealand, against Australia at Lord’s on 29 June 2019, dismissing Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Starc and Jason Behrendorff.