New Delhi. The name of former legendary fast bowler of Sri Lanka, Chaminda Vaas, is included in the history of cricket among those bowlers who created fear among the batsmen with their bowling. In today's era, when the dominance of batsmen is visible in cricket and it is becoming increasingly difficult for bowlers to take wickets on flat pitches, then a record of Chaminda Vaas comes to mind which is counted among the most unique records of ODI cricket. Chaminda Vaas is the only bowler in the world who had completed a hat-trick by taking three consecutive wickets on the first three balls of an ODI match. He did this historic feat against Bangladesh in 2003 and since then no other bowler has been able to repeat this feat.
This record of Chaminda Vaas is also special because at the beginning of any ODI match, the bowler does not have much time to understand the batsmen and make his strategy. But in that match, Chaminda Vaas attacked Bangladesh's batting order with the very first ball in such a way that the entire team came under pressure in the initial over itself. Chaminda Vaas dismissed Hannan Sarkar on the first ball of the match. After this, Mohammad Ashraful was sent to the pavilion on the next ball. After taking wickets on two consecutive balls, he now had a chance of a hat-trick and on the third ball he also dismissed Ehsan Ul Haq. In this way, by taking three wickets in the very first three balls of the ODI match, he registered his name forever in cricket history.
Chaminda Vaas did not stop here. He took another wicket on the fifth ball of the same over. That means, in the very first over of the match, four Bangladesh batsmen had returned to the pavilion. This performance shows what kind of rhythm Chaminda Vaas was bowling on that day. His precise line and length and ability to swing did not even give the Bangladesh batsmen a chance to recover. Due to the loss of four wickets in the beginning, there was pressure on Bangladesh's entire innings.
Chaminda Vaas's cricket career was also brilliant. He played international cricket for Sri Lanka for a long time and on the basis of his accurate bowling, he helped the team win many important matches. Along with speed, swing and control were also seen in his bowling. This was the reason why he proved to be very dangerous with the new ball. This record he made against Bangladesh in 2003 is considered to be the biggest example of his ability.
Taking a hat-trick in ODI cricket is a big achievement in itself, but taking a hat-trick on the very first three balls of the match is an even more extraordinary feat. The manner in which Chaminda Vaas achieved this feat is still memorable for cricket lovers. What makes this record even more special is the fact that it still stands despite the help batsmen get in modern cricket and the rapidly changing game. This is the reason why this historic hat-trick of Chaminda Vaas is included in those cricket records which will be remembered for a long time in the future.