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How Merv Hughes took a hat-trick in 3 different overs in test cricket

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A hat-trick spread over 3 overs and 2 different innings! Yes, It's not a riddle, this has actually happened in international cricket, with the bowler being Merv Hughes of Australia. The incident took place in 1988 during the second Test match between Australia and West Indies in Perth. Batting first, West Indies were at a comfortable position after a great century from Vivian Richards. After his departure, they were at 440/8 with Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh at the crease. Merv Hughes then came out to bowl his 36th over of the innings, and Ambrose nicked one to the hands of Ian Healy off the last ball of that over. The Australian captain Allan Border withdrew Hughes after that spell, as his intention of breaking the partnership was fulfilled. Later, when the No. 6 batsman Gus Logie was caught by Steve Waugh off Tim May, Border re-introduced Hughes into the attack. On the first ball of his new over, he got the No. 11 batsmen Patrick Patterson to drive one into the hands of Tony

A cricketer who was over-shadowed by the performance of his own brother

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He has scored over 8000 runs in both Tests and ODIs. He had 20 ODI centuries and 18 Test tons to his name. Even though he was not a regular bowler, he is one of those very few batting all-rounders to take a 5-wicket haul in both Tests and ODIs. He was one of the greatest slip fielders in cricket history and held the world record for most catches by a non-wicketkeeper for a long time. He was the first batsman to score 3 centuries in a World Cup, a feat which he achieved during the 1996 World Cup. He scored the 4th one in the next World Cup and became the leading run-scorer for Australia in ODIs. Yes, Mark Waugh , who was one of the finest stroke makers to play for Australia was overshadowed by his own brother - Steve Waugh, who had better numbers than him.

When Brian Lara made 28 runs in an over in Tests

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The legendary West Indies batsman Brian Lara set the world record by hitting South African spinner Robin Peterson for 28 runs in an over in 2003. It was the final over of the day, but unfortunately, Lara was in a t20 mood. Pieterson bowled the first ball short, which was cut ferociously on the back foot by Lara - 4 runs. The second ball was a flighted one and this time, he dispatched it over long-on for a big six. The third ball was hit hard over mid-wicket in a similar style with the result remaining the same. 6 runs. Pieterson delivered the fourth ball, a little flatter and fuller, but was rocketed straight down the ground for a boundary. The penultimate ball was also hit over the top of the South African bowler for the third boundary of the over. The final ball was cut past point for the third consecutive boundary. Eventually, the over read  4–6–6–4–4–4 This record was later equalled by Australian George Bailey in the 2013 Ashes series where he hit England pacer James Anderson for 2

The youngest fast bowler to make a hat trick in test cricket

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Playing in only his 4th Test match, the 16-year-old Naseem Shah became the youngest player to take a test hattrick. It was during the 1st test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi in 2020. In his 7th over of the 2nd innings, he dismissed Najmul Hossain Shanto, Taijul Islam and Mahmudullah off consecutive deliveries to complete his hattrick. He also became the first bowler from Pakistan to take a Test hat-trick since Mohammad Sami in 2002 (against Sri Lanka). Bangladesh's leg-spinner Alok Kapali was previously the youngest to record a Test hat-trick at the age of 19.

A record-breaking ODI innings from Mathew Hayden which ended up in a losing cause

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During the third ODI of the 2007 Chappell-Hadlee ODI series between Australia and New Zealand in Hamilton, Matthew Hayden scored the highest-ever ODI score by an Australian . Skipper Michael Hussey decided to bat first after winning the toss and Hayden proved his decision was right. He went on to score an unbeaten 181 off 166 balls which were supported with 11 fours and 10 huge sixes. His knock took the visitors to a competitive total of 346 and they were almost certain to end the series on a winning note. It was a terrible beginning from New Zealand as they lost 4 wickets for just 41 runs. But a great century from Craig McMillan took them to 281-5 in the 42nd over. There were more twists to the tale but a six and a four by McCullum in the final over helped New Zealand cross the line in a thrilling match. Hayden became the first player to score over 180 in an ODI and end up on the losing side.

A great batsman with less than 5000 Test runs

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He scored 4188 runs from 56 Tests at a healthy average of 45. He had 10 centuries and 25 half-centuries to his name. His best Test batting performance came against India at Sydney in January 2004, when his 125 and unbeaten 77 saved Australia the Test series, and their decade long unbeaten record at home. He always had to fight his place with fellow all-rounders like Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson, and later on with injuries. For his brilliant performances in 2010, he was included in the World Test XI by the ICC. Yes, you guessed it right. He is  Simon Katich .

An ideal playing XI, if India plays a Test, ODI and T20 on the same day

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Keeping in mind the current scenario, a possibility of India playing three formats on the same day is not distant imagination. If it happens, the major dilemma will be to choose a balanced team for all these formats. Here, I have created a team for each format, without disturbing the team-balance. Test XI Prithvi Shaw Mayank Agarwal Cheteshwar Pujara Virat Kohli (c) Ajinkya Rahane Hanuma Vihari Wriddhiman Saha Ravichandran Ashwin Mohammad Shami Umesh Yadav Ishant Sharma ODI XI Rohit Sharma (c) Shikhar Dhawan Shreyas Iyer Ambati Rayudu Dinesh Karthik Hardik Pandya Ravindra Jadeja Bhuvneshwar Kumar Khaleel Ahmed Yuzvendra Chahal Jasprit Bumrah T20 XI KL Rahul (c) Shubhman Gill Manish Pandey Sanju Samson Rishabh Pant Shivam Dube Krunal Pandya Shardul Thakur Kuldeep Yadav Navdeep Saini Deepak Chahar