IPL 2018: Bowlers who have picked hat-tricks in the tournament

11. Axar Patel – 1

The Kings XI Punjab have been one of the few teams in the IPL who have failed to win any of the editions so far. The team came too close in 2014 in scripting one of their most memorable IPL editions but unfortunately, their caravan was halted by a resurgent Kolkata Knight Riders as they failed to cross the final hurdle. They were again struggling in the ninth edition when they found a hope in the form of Axar Patel. Facing the table toppers Gujarat Lions and defending a low score of 154 on a flat deck as Rajkot, Kings found themselves in the spot of bother before Axar came to their rescue as he turned the match on its head by bowling a game-changing spell as he inflicted a split hat-trick, first for Punjab in that year’s IPL.

Axar Patel bowled the match into Punjab’s favor when he dismissed Dinesh Karthik and DJ Bravo in successive deliveries in the seventh over and then he completed his hat-trick after getting Ravindra Jadeja out in the first ball of the eleventh over. This was a much-needed spell from the lanky spinner as it gave the team a hope of reliability to turn things into their favor. Punjab eventually went on to win the match against a pretty strong looking batting lineup as they restricted them before 154 to gain back some sort of confidence going ahead in the league. This was all possible much due to Axar’s exploits with the ball that propelled the team to victory.

Batsmen dismissed: Dinesh Karthik, DJ Bravo, and Ravindra Jadeja