On this day in 2003: Chaminda Vaas takes a hat-trick with the first three balls

A hat trick is a tough achievement to accomplish in limited-overs cricket. In the first over of the 2003 World Cup match, Chaminda Vaas became the first bowler to claim four wickets in an over.

Vaas completed a hat-trick by picking up three wickets on the first three balls of the innings. He also took a wicket on the fifth ball of the very first over. He thus finished with four wickets and a hat-trick from the first over.

Additionally, it was the first occasion in cricket history that the No. 6 batter entered the field during the opening over of a game. Hattrick is a milestone that a bowler may reach in his cricket career, but what Vaas accomplished in the first over was unimaginably rare and any bowler of any calibre would aspire to achieve such a record.

Sri Lanka roll over Bangladesh

It was a Group B encounter; Sri Lanka had defeated New Zealand by 47 runs in their opening World Cup match. While Bangladesh had lost their opening match against Canada by 60 runs. Each team had to play six games during the group stage and had to win four games to advance.

After losing to Canada, Bangladesh’s chances of making the playoffs were extremely slim. After losing to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh were knocked out of the Super six race. Vaas picked up two more wickets in the game and registered an ever-memorable six-wicket haul while giving away just 25 runs in the 9.2 overs that he bowled.

As a result, Bangladesh were dished out for mere 124 runs in the game, and Sri Lankan openers Marvan Atapattu and skipper Sanath Jayasuriya chased down the 125-run target with ease with 173 balls to spare as Sri Lanka won the game by 10 wickets.