Australian fast bowler Pat Cummins has etched his name in cricket history by becoming the first player to achieve hat-tricks in two consecutive T20 World Cup matches.
Cummins joins Brett Lee as the second Australian to record a hat-trick in the tournament. Lee achieved the feat against Bangladesh in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007.
Read more: South Africa unbeaten at T20 World Cup after win over England, West Indies defeats US by 9 wickets.
Cummins claimed his first hat-trick against Bangladesh in their opening Super Eights match. Remarkably, he replicated this achievement just three days later against Afghanistan, dismissing Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, and Gulbadin Naib across the 18th and 20th overs.
With these two hat-tricks, Cummins joins an elite group of bowlers who have achieved the feat twice in T20 internationals, including Lasith Malinga, Tim Southee, Mark Pavlovic, and Waseem Abbas.
This unique accomplishment draws parallels to the legendary Wasim Akram, who accomplished consecutive hat-tricks in Test matches against Sri Lanka in 1999.
Read more: T20 World Cup: Bangladesh suffer another thumping defeat to India