Unadkat rocks Delhi with first-over hat-trick

After 12 years, Jaydev Unadkat made a memorable Test comeback in 2022. On his return to the Ranji Trophy in 2023, he scored a hat trick in his first over as the Delhi-Saurashtra match got off to a dramatic start in Rajkot.

After Delhi’s captain Dhull chose to bat after winning the toss, Unadkat, the captain of Saurashtra, removed Dhruv Shorey, Vaibhav Rawal, and Yash Dhull from the third, fourth, and fifth deliveries of the match, respectively. In the history of the Ranji Trophy, this was the very first first-over hat trick; In the 2017-18 quarterfinal against Mumbai, Karnataka fast bowler Vinay Kumar scored his hat trick in the first and third overs, making it the earliest hat trick in a match.

Unadkat had taken two more wickets in his second over to complete his 21st five-wicket haul in first-class cricket. Delhi were 5 for 6 when he caught Lalit Yadav lbw for a four-ball duck, according to Unadkat’s statistics: 2-0-5-5.

The first of Shorey’s wickets was particularly significant. Shorey is currently the highest run-getter after three rounds of Ranji Trophy matches this season, scoring 579 runs in six innings at an average of 144.75.

In order for Saurashtra to reach the knockout stages, this match is crucial. They have 12 points from three games, including one win and two draws, to rank third in Group B. At the moment, Mumbai and Maharashtra rank first and second, respectively.

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As captain and bowler, Unadkat is enjoying a dream run. He took the most wickets for Saurashtra last month, taking 19 in 10 matches at an economy of 3.33, as they won the Vijay Hazare Trophy. After that, Unadkat took his first Test wicket in Mirpur, where he was recalled, and India won the series 2-0 in Bangladesh with three scalps.