By Amitabh Trehan & Kervyn Dimney
On the evening of June 27, 2009, in a space of 3 or 4 minutes, an event happened that has never been recorded before in cricket history - 5 wickets in an over, and all of them clean bowled! Thats probably two records there itself.
As part of the Colorado Cricket League, University of New Mexico Cricket Club (UNMCC) was playing their second T-20 match of the day against Boulder Cricket Club (BCC) at Memorial park, Colorado Springs. Chasing a healthy UNM total of 127, BCC were in a desperate situation needing 51 runs off the last 3 overs but they had 5 wickets to launch a final charge. This was the 18th over and turned out to be the last over of their innings!
Dharmesh Bhakta
5 wickets in an over !!!
In an almost surreal over,
Dharmesh Bhakta hurling down his medium pacers from his usual short run up hit the middle stump 5 times in the over to finish the match. The over began with Dharmesh ending the resistance of Utpal Amin on his first ball. The incoming batsman Chandan Thakur took two runs off the next ball. On the third ball of the over, Dharmesh put in an extra effort ball which slipped wide down the leg side and the batsmen ran three runs. Nothing seemed unusual about the over. BCC were probably feeling hopeful of a late charge.
Then, without warning, the bails flew on the next 2 balls, sending Hiren Patel and Girish Bhatt back to the pavillion. Hat trick ball, the field moved in a little closer. Almost anti-climatically Dharmesh bowled a wide. Already 3 wickets had fallen in 4 balls. Still a hat-trick ball. With his side-arm sling action which confuses batsmen all the time, Dharmesh hit the middle stump the fourth time in the over to get the wicket of Sudhanshu Bhargava and the hat-trick. We celebrated the hat-trick. BCC were suddenly 9 down and as the last batsman walked in, there was a sudden realisation that maybe Dharmesh can take four wickets in four balls but maybe that was too much to happen. But it did happen - Dharmesh clean bowled Gaurav Patel. It all happened so fast, it took us time to realize what had happened. History had been made - five wickets had been taken in an over, with four wickets on four balls. It is also amazing that for none of the wickets, the batsmen even got a touch on the ball.
There have been two recorded instances of four wickets in four balls - Shaun Pollock took 4 wickets in 4 balls on his first appearance for Warwickshire - in a limited-overs (B&H Cup) game v Leicestershire at Birmingham in 1996, and in ODIs, Lasith Malinga took 4 wickets in 4 balls across two overs against South Africa in 2007.
Four wickets in an over have been taken - In test cricket MJC Allom (with a hat-trick), CM Old and Wasim Akram have taken 4 wickets in 5 balls. Andy Caddick has taken 4 wickets in an over against West Indies and Chaminda Vaas in his first over against Bangladesh in the 2003 World Cup.
There is an interesting side story to the deed. One of the less regular bowlers went over to the captain before Dharmesh's over and asked for an over. With five wickets left, he was sure he was going to get the next over, and so he warmed up throughout the over. When one wicket was left, he went over to Dharmesh in disbelief and suggested that at least he not get this one out. Well, he did not get to bowl the next over!
See Scorecard
CCL Profile of Dharmesh Bhakta