OTD 2006: Irfan Pathan arrives onto the scene with sensational hat-trick against Pakistan

Irfan Pathan in Karachi Test 2006. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)

January 29, 2006, was the day when a young Irfan Pathan showcased his prowess in world cricket with a sensational hat-trick against Pakistan. India’s tour of Pakistan began with the first two Tests being drawn. The stage was set in the third for a result and a chance to win the series. After winning the toss, the visitors elected to field first setting a perfect platform for Pathan to showcase his brilliance.

A young Irfan Pathan was given the responsibility to bowl the first over of the game, and on the final three balls of the over, Pathan took three consecutive wickets to complete a wondrous hat-trick.

Salman Butt, Younis Khan, and Mohammad Yousuf were the victims of Pathan’s deadly swing. Butt fell prey to an exceptional outswinger, which landed in the hands of Virender Sehwag.

Younis Khan had the middle stump taken apart with a vicious in-swinger. Whereas, Mohammad Yousuf had the bails off the stump flying after being deceived by the young pacer.

Pathan’s heroics were unable to secure win for India

With the hat-trick, Irfan Pathan ended the first innings of the game with five wickets to his name. Furthermore, RP Singh took three wickets, with Zaheer Khan striking twice. India limited Pakistan to a total of 245 runs in the first innings.

In response, the side replied by scoring 238 runs. Yuvraj Singh was the highest run-getter for India, with 45 runs to his name. Irfan Pathan added 40 runs to the board as well. Aiming to maximise their lead, Pakistan put forth a brilliant performance with the bat.

Salman Butt and Imran Farhat opened the innings with scores of 53 and 57 runs, respectively. Younis Khan added 77 runs on the board, with Faisal Iqbal scoring 139 runs in 220 deliveries. Declaring a score of 599 runs, Pakistan posted a target of 607 runs to win the game.

However, Team India failed to go big and chase the target down. Yuvraj Singh did play a resilient knock of 122 runs, but the rest of the batters could not amount to much as India were bundled out for 265 runs, losing the game by 341 runs.